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BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0453E
SUNSET: 1844E
ANOTHER VERY FINE WEEKEND DAY WITH LOW HUMIDITY AND COMFORTABLE
TEMPERATURES….
Today has featured plenty of sunshine mixed with some high thin
cirrus clouds through the morning, but also joined by diurnal
cumulus clouds by early this afternoon. With continued low
humidity levels, seasonable temperatures, and a gentle wind,
today has been another pleasant one for any outdoor activities.
As mentioned, temperatures are seasonable early this afternoon
after starting the day below normal. Readings dipped into the
mid 50s early this morning before rebounding into the lower 80s
early this afternoon. Dew points have remained well in the
comfortable range with values in the mid 50s throughout the day;
a definite treat for mid August!
Winds were fairly light throughout the morning hours, but have
picked up a bit early this afternoon with some mixing from aloft
taking place. A variable wind this morning has become southerly
this afternoon. The average speed for the day so far is around
7mph. It started becoming gusty just prior to the 1pm observation
and the peak gust for the day so far is 20mph, which occurred
right around 1pm (just after the observation period).
Visibility has held steady at 50 miles throughout the day. This
is pretty decent for this time of year and very much indicative
of the lower humidity levels alleviating the normal haziness one
would expect in mid August.
The maximum temperature so far today is 82F, which is 2 degrees
above the normal high of 80F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 57F, which is 6 degrees below the normal low of 63F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few altocumulus distant SSW-WNW
Temperature: 65F; Dew Point: 57F; Relative Humidity: 75%
Wind: NE @ 4 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1022.3 mb; 30.19 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 65F
6-hr Min temp: 57F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1155 E250 -BKN 50 223/65/57/0504/019/ FEW AC DSNT SSW-WNW
WND LGT/ 8/051 53004 10065 20057
10 A.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few cumulus N-E-S, few altocumulus
distant SW-NW
Temperature: 76F; Dew Point: 56F; Relative Humidity: 51%
Wind: W @ 4 kts, wind light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 1022.1 mb; 30.18 in. Hg: falling unsteadily
Visibility: 50 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 E250 -BKN 50 221/76/56/2604/018/ FEW CU N-E-S
FEW AC DSNT SW-NW WND L/V/ 8/251 57002
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cumulus, broken altocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 80F; Dew Point: 56F; Relative Humidity: 44%
Wind: SW @ 7G15 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1020.0 mb; 30.12 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 82F
6-hr Min temp: 65F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 E45 BKN 95 BKN 250 BKN 50 200/80/56/2307G15/012/
8/251 58021 10082 20065
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SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….81 NORMAL…..81
MIN…….59 NORMAL…..63
MEAN……70 NORMAL…..72
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….-2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+53 [+3.3 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2026 THRU JUN 2027)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………..0 DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (AUG)………..0 DEPARTURE……..-3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………….2 DEPARTURE……..-8
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………..2 DEPARTURE………0
COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2026 THRU DEC 2026)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………..5 DEPARTURE……..-2
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (AUG)………165 DEPARTURE…….+51
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………..662 DEPARTURE……+162
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………624 DEPARTURE…….+38
PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all on Main Tower.
E=Estimated *=Last of multiple occurrences
F420C (Official)………..18 WNW @ 03:00 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….19 NNE @ 12:02 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….21 NW @ 01:30 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….18 WNW @ 01:17 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………19 WNW @ 01:17 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..19 NW @ 01:17 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..21 NW @ 01:30 P.M.
MERLIN…………………17 NW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……17 NW @ 02:12 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………12 WNW @ 03:02 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..13 NW @ 01:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..14 WNW @ 01:16 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………14 NW @ 01:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………13 WNW @ 01:17 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..14 NW @ 01:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..13 WNW @ 01:16 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………14 NW @ 01:33 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..6.6 N [158 total miles]
VECTOR #1………………7.1
VECTOR #2………………7.3
DAVIS #1……………….6.8 N
DAVIS #2……………….5.8 NNE
RMY #1…………………7.0 N
RMY #2…………………7.2 N
RICHARDS (C5C)………….7.4
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.13
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (AUG)……..0.72 DEPARTURE…..-1.24
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….24.82 DEPARTURE…..-7.84
————————————————————–
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR AUGUST CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SUN(MIN)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/VEC1/RMY GUST
PEAK GUST: F420C (Official)
VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust
RMY: R.M. Young #1 wind gust recording system (Instantaneous)
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M: Missing data
8/1 87/64/76/+3/0.00/719/83 23 SSW VEC1 24 S RMY 24
8/2 83/68/76/+3/0.01/406/47 29 S VEC1 28 S RMY 30
8/3 76/65/71/-2/0.70/121/14 44 SSW VEC1 44 SSW RMY 45 TSTM
8/4 85/61/73/0/0.00/860/100 18 W VEC1 18 W RMY 19
8/5 87/63/75/+2/0.00/694/81 21 W VEC1 21 WSW RMY 20
8/6 91/68/80/+7/0.00/539/63 21 SW VEC1 21 SW RMY 22
8/7 92/73/83/+10/T/793/93 20 SW VEC1 20 SW RMY 21
8/8 90/70/80/+8/T/723/85 29 W VEC1 29 WSW RMY 28
8/9 88/69/79/+7/0.00/…/.. 28 W VEC1 27 W RMY 28
8/10 87/66/77/+5/0.00/…/.. 24 W VEC1 24 W RMY 25
8/11 86/67/77/+5/0.00/…/.. 26 WNW VEC1 26 WNW RMY 28
8/12 85/64/75/+3/T/…/.. 18 W VEC1 18 W RMY 18
8/13 85/65/75/+3/0.01/…/.. 26 WNW VEC1 25 WNW RMY 26
8/14 83/62/73/+1/0.00/…/.. 21 NW VEC1 21 NNW RMY 22
8/15 81/59/70/-2/0.00/…/.. 18 WNW VEC1 19 NNE RMY 19
8/16 The low since midnight is 57F, the daily normal low is 63F.
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AUGUST DAILY RECORDS TO DATE
8/7 TIED RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73F;
ALSO SET IN 2018 AND 2022
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DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 16
HIGH 95F IN 1944
LOW 50F IN 1927
PRECIP 1.31 INCHES IN 1951
PEAK GUST 45e MPH N IN 1951
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 17
HIGH 97F IN 1944
LOW 48F IN 1902
PRECIP 2.17 INCHES IN 1998
PEAK GUST 50e MPH SSW IN 1952, 50 MPH WNW IN 1962
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
