Sunday, May 21, 2023

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA

SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2023
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0417E
SUNSET:  1905E

A SOAKER OVERNIGHT, DRYING OUT AND MILD TODAY ON BLUE HILL….

Record rainfall occurred yesterday, with most of it coming during
the evening hours. 1.97″ of rain was recorded for the calendar
day, setting a new record for the date, beating the previous record
of 1.65″ set in 1969. The total for the event was 2.06″ of much
needed rainfall!

Skies gradually cleared this morning leaving us with mainly sunny
skies as we pushed into the afternoon hours. Unfortunately, the
smoke layer aloft has returned as wildfires continue to burn in
Alberta, Canada.

Temperatures have risen nicely into the upper 60s to low 70s across
the region, so all in all has turned out to be a very nice day.

The wind has been mainly out of a west-northwesterly direction with
an average speed of around 12mph. Just enough breeze is out there
to keep it comfortable, despite the somewhat elevated dew points
in the low to mid 50s.

Visibility has been limited all day to around 15-20 miles. First
due to thin fog this morning, then due to general haziness, possibly
from the smoke. Pollen shouldn’t be much of an issue today after
all the rain.

The high temperature so far today is 71F, which is 3 degrees above
the normal high of 68F. The low since midnight is 55F, which is 5
degrees above the normal low of 50F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, overcast altostratus, few stratus
fractus all quadrants
Temperature: 56F; Dew Point: 56F; Relative Humidity: 99%
Wind: WNW @ 12G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1010.5 mb; 29.84 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 15 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 62F
6-hr Min temp: 56F
24-hr Precip:  2.06 inches
BHO SA 1155 E35 BKN 80 OVC 15 105/56/56/2912G17/984/ FEW STFRA
ALQDS THN F ALQDS/ 8/72/ 51019 6002/ 70206 10062 20056

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, thin broken cirrus
Temperature: 60F; Dew Point: 50F; Relative Humidity: 68%
Wind: WNW @ 10G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1010.9 mb; 29.85 in. Hg: falling, then more
slowly
Visibility: 15 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 220 SCT E250 -BKN 15 109/60/50/3010G17/985/
FEW AC NNE-S HAZY/ 8/051 51004

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus distant NE-S, thin smoke layer aloft
all quadrants
Temperature: 68F; Dew Point: 50F; Relative Humidity: 51%
Wind: WNW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1011.5 mb; 29.87 in. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 20 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 69F
6-hr Min temp: 55F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 20 115/68/50/2908/987/ FEW CI DSNT NE-S
THN K LYR ALF ALQDS HAZY/ 8/001 53006 10069 20055

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SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2023

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….65   NORMAL…..68
MIN…….51   NORMAL…..49
MEAN……58   NORMAL…..59

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………-1
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………..+30 [+1.3 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2022 THRU JUN 2023)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….7  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..154  DEPARTURE…….-36
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………5125  DEPARTURE……-952
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….5545  DEPARTURE……-420

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2023 THRU DEC 2023)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….0  DEPARTURE……..-1
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………16  DEPARTURE……..+5
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………..25  DEPARTURE…….+11
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………24  DEPARTURE……..+1

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all Main Tower.
E=Estimated

F420C (Official)……….E38 S   @  09:50 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….39 S   @  09:50 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….42 S   @  09:28 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….38 S   @  09:28 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………45 S   @  09:03 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..39 S   @  09:03 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..44 S   @  09:28 P.M.
MERLIN…………………34 S
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……36     @  07:23 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………25 S   @  09:06 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..25     @  11:22 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..26     @  09:05 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………25 S   @  11:23 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………29 S   @  09:05 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..24 SSW @  11:23 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..26 SSW @  09:05 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………24     @  11:23 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………14.2 S [341 total miles] VECTOR #1……………….14.2
VECTOR #2……………….15.2
DAVIS #1………………..13.4 S
DAVIS #2………………..15.0 S
RMY #1………………….13.8 S
RMY #2………………….15.3 S
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..14.1

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..2.06 DEPARTURE…..+1.94
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..2.51 DEPARTURE…..+0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR…………..20.71 DEPARTURE…..-0.44

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE…….0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..0.0 DEPARTURE…….0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2022-2023)……34.9 DEPARTURE…..-34.8

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MAY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/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

5/1   63/45/54/+1/0.04/0.0/540/64         44 SSE  VEC1 46 SSE RMY 48
5/2   57/43/50/-4/0.22/0.0/144/17         33 S    VEC1 34 S   RMY 35
5/3   55/42/49/-5/0.01/0.0/093/11         25 E    VEC1 25 E   RMY 25
5/4   45/40/43/-11/0.07/0.0/009/01        29 NE   VEC1 29 NE  RMY 29
5/5   59/43/51/-4/0.07/0.0/367/43         18 NE   VEC1 19 NE  RMY 19
5/6   74/43/59/+4/0.00/0.0/847/99         25 NW   VEC1 26 NW  RMY 26
5/7   78/52/65/+10/0.01/0.0/789/92        26 WNW  VEC1 27 W   RMY 28
5/8   74/49/62/+7/0.03/0.0/800/93         32 NW   VEC1 33 NW  RMY 35
5/9   60/45/53/-3/0.00/0.0/819/95         24 NE   VEC1 25 NE  RMY 25
5/10  72/51/62/+6/0.00/0.0/830/96         25 WSW  VEC1 26 WSW RMY 26
5/11  81/53/67/+11/T/0.0/729/84           30 W    VEC1 30 W   RMY 30
5/12  84/57/71/+14/T/0.0/687/79           31 WNW  VEC1 35 WNW RMY 34
5/13  81/58/70/+13/0/0.0/715/82           28 NNW  VEC1 30 NNW RMY 35
5/14  66/47/57/0/0.00/0.0/822/94          28 NNW  VEC1 29 NNW RMY 31
5/15  72/45/59/+2/0.00/0.0/675/77         33 W    VEC1 35 W   RMY 34
5/16  80/55/68/+10/0.00/0.0/…/..        38 SW   VEC1 39 SW  RMY 41
5/17  62/37/50/-8/0.00/0.0/…/..         36 NNW  VEC1 37 NNW RMY 40
5/18  64/34/49/-9/0.00/0.0/…/..         26 SSW  VEC1 28 SSW RMY 28
5/19  68/42/55/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..         36 SSW  VEC1 36 SSW RMY 34
5/20  65/51/58/-1/1.97/0.0/…/..         38 S    VEC1 39 S   RMY 39

5/21 The low since midnight is 55F, the daily normal low is 50F

DAILY RECORDS

05/18/2023: NEW RECORD LOW MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 34F,
THIS BEATS THE OLD RECORD OF 35F SET IN 2002

05/20/2023: NEW RECORD DAILY PRECIPITATION OF 1.97 INCHES,
THIS BEATS THE OLD RECORD OF 1.65 INCHES SET IN 1969

DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)

RECORDS FOR MAY 21
HIGH 92F IN 1921
LOW 35F IN 1907
PRECIP 1.61 INS IN 1954
PEAK GUST 74 MPH WSW IN 2006

RECORDS FOR MAY 22
HIGH 93F IN 1911, 2022
LOW 35F IN 1907
PRECIP 3.75 INCHES IN 1920
PEAK GUST 49e MPH SSW IN 1947

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas