Sunday, October 22, 2023

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

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2023
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0605E
SUNSET:  1652E

SUNNY START, BUT INCREASING CLOUDS BY THE AFTERNOON; BRISK AND COOL…

The coastal storm that passed by the region yesterday deposited
a storm total of 0.77″ of rain in our rain gauge. It’s hard to
fathom, but this was actually needed rainfall as the month has
been running a significant deficit in this department.

Today started off with clear skies, but stratocumulus has been
on the increase with the day-time heating. Skies have even been
overcast at times early this afternoon.

Temperatures are on the cool side with readings so far maxing
out in the mid 50s. With the dew point in the low 40s, it’s
adding a bit of a chill to the air, especially with the gusty
winds.

The wind has been mainly west or west-northwesterly with an
average speed so far of around 17mph. Frequent gusts over 30mph
have been occurring, creating a wind chill in the upper 40s!
The peak gust so far today is around 35mph.

Visibility has been excellent today with views of 60-70 miles
all day!

The maximum temperature so far today has been 56F, which is 3
degrees below the normal high of 59F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 47F, which is 5 degrees above the normal low
of 42F.

As we continue to remain above normal in the minimum temperature
category, we are actively tracking when we will have our first
low temperature below 40F. Here are the current rankings as
compiled by our Chief Scientist, Mike Iacono.

BHO Latest First Minimum Temperature Below 40 deg F (1885-2023):

1) 24 October 2013 (36F)
24 October 2021 (37F)
3) 22 October 1955 (34F)
4) 21 October 2005 (39F)
5) 20 October 1960 (38F)
6) 19 October 2014 (39F)

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant all quadrants,
few altocumulus/castellanus distant NNW-ENE, few cirrostratus
distant NNW-ENE
Temperature: 48F; Dew Point: 40F; Relative Humidity: 73%
Wind: W @ 14G25 kts
Sea-level pressure: 997.0 mb; 29.44 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 52F
6-hr Min temp: 47F
24-hr Precip: 0.75 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 60 970/48/40/2714G25/944/ FEW SC DSNT ALQDS
FEW AC/ACC DSNT NNW-ENE FEW CS DSNT NNW-ENE/ 8/588 53025 70075
10052 20047

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, scattered altocumulus,
scattered cirrostratus
Temperature: 53F; Dew Point: 40F; Relative Humidity: 61%
Wind: W @ 16G25 kts, peak wind W 33mph at 9:04 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 998.7 mb; 29.49 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 30 SCT 70 SCT 220 SCT 70 987/53/40/2816G25/949/
PK WND 2829/04/ 8/568 51017

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, broken altocumulus
Temperature: 54F; Dew Point: 40F; Relative Humidity: 58%
Wind: WNW @ 14G25 kts, peak wind W 32mph at 12:13 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 999.2 mb; 29.51 in. Hg: rising unsteadily
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 56F
6-hr Min temp: 48F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 35 SCT E100 BKN 70 992/54/40/3014G25/951/ PK WND 2828/13/
8/550 52005 10056 20048

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SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….58   NORMAL…..59
MIN…….52   NORMAL…..42
MEAN……55   NORMAL…..51

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL……….+4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………+86 [+3.9 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………10  DEPARTURE……..-5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..153  DEPARTURE…….-78
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….252  DEPARTURE…….-96
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..304  DEPARTURE…….-52

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2023 THRU DEC 2023)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….0  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………15  DEPARTURE……..+8
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….704  DEPARTURE…….+27
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..884  DEPARTURE……-180

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)……….E40 NW   @  03:34 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….41 NW   @  03:34 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….43 NW   @  03:33 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….38 NW   @  03:34 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………40 NW   @  03:21 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..44 NW   @  03:33 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..43 NW   @  03:33 P.M.
MERLIN…………………36 NW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……40      @  03:29 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………30 NW   @  03:32 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..25      @  03:30 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..27      @  03:35 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………27 NW   @  03:31 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………27 WNW  @  07:50 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..25 NW   @  03:30 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..26 WNW  @  07:39 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………25      @  03:30 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….12.6 ESE [303 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..12.6
VECTOR #2……………..13.3
DAVIS #1………………13.1 NW
DAVIS #2………………13.1 N
RMY #1………………..12.3 ENE
RMY #2………………..13.0 ENE
RICHARDS (C5C)…………12.9

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.75 DEPARTURE…..+0.56
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..1.00 DEPARTURE…..-2.67
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR…………..48.22 DEPARTURE…..+5.88

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 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

10/1  68/50/59/+1/0.00/458/65             20 NNE VEC1 20 NNE RMY 19
10/2  68/55/62/+4/0.00/681/97             24 NE  VEC1 23 NE  RMY 24
10/3  81/54/68/+11/0.00/672/96            18 WSW VEC1 18 WSW RMY 18
10/4  81/64/73/+16/0.00/669/96            17 S   VEC1 17 S   RMY 16
10/5  77/59/68/+11/0.00/638/92            24 S   VEC1 24 S   RMY 23
10/6  71/60/66/+10/0.00/269/39            20 SE  VEC1 19 SE  RMY 18
10/7  68/54/61/+5/0.16/007/01             30 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 29
10/8  63/48/56/+1/0.00/651/95             30 W   VEC1 30 WNW RMY 30
10/9  61/44/53/-2/0.00/532/78             25 WSW VEC1 24 WSW RMY 25
10/10 64/47/56/+1/T/245/36                23 W   VEC1 22 W   RMY 21
10/11 68/50/59/+5/0.00/393/58             23 SSW VEC1 22 SW  RMY 22
10/12 69/51/60/+6/0.00/479/71             18 NW  VEC1 18 NNW RMY 18
10/13 61/43/52/-2/0.00/638/95             33 NW  VEC1 31 NW  RMY 34
10/14 60/44/52/-1/0.00/247/37             24 NW  VEC1 23 NW  RMY 23
10/15 59/44/52/-1/0.00/226/34             24 NNW VEC1 25 NNW RMY 25
10/16 58/44/51/-1/0.07/166/25             17 WNW VEC1 17 WNW RMY 17
10/17 60/45/53/+1/T/211/32                15 N   VEC1 15 N   RMY 14
10/18 62/49/56/+4/0.00/079/12             15 SSW VEC1 15 SSW RMY 16
10/19 65/50/58/+8/0.00/…/..             31 SSW VEC1 30 SSW RMY 33
10/20 63/55/57/+6/0.01/…/..             28 SSE VEC1 26 SE  RMY 26
10/21 58/52/55/+4/0.76/…/..             40 NW  VEC1 41 NW  RMY 44

10/22 The low since midnight is 47F, the daily normal low is 42F

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OCTOBER DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

.NONE…

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

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 22
HIGH 85F IN 1979
LOW 23F IN 1940
PRECIP 2.38 INCHES IN 2014
SNOWFALL TRACE IN 1969, 2010
PEAK GUST 67 MPH ESE IN 1988

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 23
HIGH 82F IN 1947
LOW 24F IN 1969
PRECIP 3.66 INCHES IN 2014
SNOWFALL 3.0 INCHES IN 1891
PEAK GUST 78e MPH NW IN 1941

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas