Sunday, September 27, 2020

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

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

BLUE HILL RECEIVES A TRACE OF RAIN AFTER
TWO WEEKS….

Today started off foggy, with visibility limited to
a 1/16th mile at the 7 A.M. observation. By 1 P.M., we
reached 65 miles. Wind was southerly, at an average
slightly above 10 mph. The highest gust is 21 mph since
this morning. Following the morning fog, skies were
mostly cloudy. With this came a trace of rain between
10 A.M. and 11 A.M., with distant rainfall being seen
to the southwest in the afternoon hours. Until any
measurable rainfall is seen atop Great Blue Hill,
the significant deficit continues. We are currently
2.96 inches under average for the month, and 5.17
inches below the normal annual total for this
calendar date.

Aside from the present weather, today marked the 16th
consecutive day without measurable precipitation.
The entire state of MA has deepened its drought conditions
since a week ago. It is worth mentioning that while the
departures range from 5 inches to as much as 13 inches
across the Commonwealth, the Quabbin and the Wachusett
Reservoirs remain in very healthy condition. For perspective,
93% is the current capacity at the Quabbin which fully serves
32 communities in Eastern MA plus an additional 16
municipalities for partial supply. Wachusett Reservoir sits
right behind at 91% capacity. The last significant drought
in MA occurred during the last half of 2016 into early 2017
where the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs measured 79% and
89% respectively, both still safely above warning stage.

-Drought section written by Andrew Swanson

The high so far today is 76F, 8 degrees above the daily
normal max of 68F. The low since midnight is 57F, which
is 6 degrees above the normal low of 51F.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Fog
Temperature: 65F; Dew Point: 65F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: S at 4 kts, light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 30.05 ins. Hg: falling then rising
Visibility: 1/16 mile (fog)
6-hr Max temp: 65F
6-hr Min temp: 64F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1155 X W3 1/16F 177/65/65/1704/005/ WND L/V/ 8////
50001 10065 20064

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus
Temperature: 68F; Dew Point: 65F; Relative Humidity: 90%
Wind: S at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.06 ins. Hg: falling then rising
Visibility: 35 miles, thin fog
3-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1455 10 OVC 35 181/68/65/1907/006/ THN FG DSNT ALQDS/
8/8// 50004

1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cumulus, altostratus
Temperature: 78F; Dew Point: 66F; Relative Humidity: 68%
Wind: S at 10G14 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.01 ins. Hg: falling steadily
Visibility: 65 miles
6-hr Max temp: 78F
6-hr Min temp: 65F
6-hr Precip: TRACE
BHO SA 1755 40 BKN 70 BKN 65 165/78/66/1910G14/001/ VIRGA
DSNT SW/ 8/210 600// 58016 10078 20065

SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..77   NORMAL…..68
MIN…..57   NORMAL…..51
MEAN….67   NORMAL…..59

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………. +8
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………….-10 [-0.6 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..0  DEPARTURE……-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….94  DEPARTURE……+7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………97  DEPARTURE…..-15
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….79  DEPARTURE…..+18

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..2  DEPARTURE……+1
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………… 56  DEPARTURE….. -1
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..813  DEPARTURE….+219
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……678  DEPARTURE….+135

PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY (MPH)
420C/Official…………….21 S   AT  6:08 P.M.
AERO…………………….21 S   AT  5:00 P.M.
ASOS…………………….22 S   AT  6:22 P.M.
DAVIS……………………21 SW  AT 12:26 P.M.
RMY 21  MERLIN 21
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………….16 S   AT  6:19 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….16 S   AT  6:09 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE………………15 SSW AT  6:18 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION……………8.5 W (203 total miles)
ASOS……………………9.2
DAVIS…………………..8.0 SSW [201 deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.00  DEPARTURE….-0.15
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.51  DEPARTURE….-2.96
ASOS…………..0.51
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….33.32  DEPARTURE….-5.17
ASOS………….34.09

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/AERO/RMY GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust
RMY:  R.M. Young wind gust recording system
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M:    Missing data

09/01  76/59/68/0/0.00/698/88              22 SSE  AERO 21 SE   RMY 20
09/02  69/59/64/-4/0.18/102/13             23 SSE  AERO 23 SSE  RMY 24
09/03  75/66/71/+4/0.04/000/00             22 SSW  AERO 21 SSW  RMY N/A
09/04  82/62/72/+5/0.00/763/98             26 WNW  AERO 26 WNW  RMY 25
09/05  76/55/66/-1/0.00/760/98             25 W    AERO 25 W    RMY 24
09/06  78/58/68/+1/0.00/356/46             24 W    AERO 24 W    RMY N/A
09/07  79/61/70/+4/0.00/632/82             27 SSE  AERO 30 SSE  RMY 28
09/08  82/61/72/+6/0.00/545/71             17 S    AERO 16 S    RMY 17
09/09  80/62/71/+5/0.00/214/28             16 S    AERO 15 S    RMY 16
09/10  81/69/75/+10/0.28/015/02            21 SSW  AERO 21 SSW  RMY N/A
09/11  72/55/64/-1/0.01/152/20             25 N    AERO 25 N    RMY N/A
09/12  68/51/60/-5/0.00/666/88             21 ENE  AERO 21 ENE  RMY 21
09/13  74/53/64/0/0.00/611/81              26 SSW  AERO 26 SSW  RMY 26
09/14  74/50/62/-2/0.00/511/68             29 NNW  AERO 33 NNW  RMY 30
09/15  64/44/54/-10/0.00/…/..            18 S    AERO 18 S    RMY N/A
09/16  72/49/61/-2/0.00/…/..             31 SSW  AERO 31 SSW  RMY 31
09/17  76/57/67/+4/0.00/…/..             26 WSW  AERO 28 W    RMY N/A
09/18  64/48/56/-6/0.00/…/..             28 NE   AERO 30 NNW  RMY N/A
09/19  59/42/51/-11/0.00/…/..            23 N    AERO 23 N    RMY N/A
09/20  58/40/49/-13/0.00/…/..            25 NE   AERO 25 NE   RMY 27
09/21  61/41/51/-10/0.00/…/..            29 NE   AERO 27 NE   RMY 29
09/22  63/39/51/-10/0.00/…/..            28 NNW  AERO 30 NNW  RMY 29
09/23  78/50/64/+4/0.00/…/..             31 NW   AERO 32 WNW  RMY 32
09/24  76/57/67/+7/0.00/…/..             20 SW   AERO 18 WSW  RMY 19
09/25  77/57/67/+7/0.00/…/..             18 ENE  AERO 18 WSW  RMY N/A
09/26  77/57/67/+8/0.00/…/..             21 S    AERO 21 S    RMY 21

09/27 The low since midnight is 64F, the daily normal low is 50F

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

RECORDS FOR SEPTEMBER 27
HIGH 86F IN 2017
LOW 32F IN 1947
PRECIP 2.26 INCHES IN 1962
PEAK GUST 100 MPH SSE IN 1985 (HURRICANE GLORIA)

RECORDS FOR SEPTEMBER 28
HIGH 86F IN 2014
LOW 33F IN 1897,1947
PRECIP 2.46 INCHES IN 2004
PEAK GUST 69 MPH NE IN 1962

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Benjamin Turner