Thursday, August 2, 2018

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2018
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

HEAT INTENSIFIES TODAY WITH CONTINUED HIGH HUMIDITY

It has been a very hot and humid summer day today. The morning low was well
above normal at 74F, and we have soared to a high so far of 92F by the
2PM EDT observation.  Dew points remain in near oppressive territory, easing
back slightly into the upper 60s this afternoon from the low 70s this
morning. Breezy conditions have been present for a second day, with a
wind of around 15mph from the SW gusting over 25mph. Skies have been
mostly sunny, with just a few cumulus clouds popping up. Visibility has been
fairly good considering the heat and humidity, at around 50 miles for most
of the day.

While today is hot, we are well short of the daily heat records. On this
date in 1975 we hit a high of 101F with a low of only 79F. These values are
tied for our all time station record maximum and high minimum temperatures,
respectively.

PRELIMINARY STATS FOR JULY 2018

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 83.9 [+3.1] Avg. Min. 63.7 [+0.8] Mean      73.8 [+1.9] 24-hour corrected mean: 73.6
Max. for month: 94F on  1st and 3rd
Min. for month: 54F on  7th

COOLING DEGREE DAYS
Total cooling units:   296 [+74] Total for the season:  455 [+104] Total for last season: 421

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.84 [-0.18] Greatest in 24 hrs: 1.36 in on 17th-18th

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 9.8
Avg. corrected wind speed: 10.4
Prevailing wind direction: S at 19%
Peak gust and direction: 41 SSW on 26th

SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: N/A (not yet finalized)
Astronomical total minutes: N/A (not yet finalized)

BHO Warmest July Mean Temperature (24-hr corrected mean), deg F (1885-2018):

1)  75.1 in 2010
2)  74.9 in 1952
3)  74.1 in 1994
74.1 in 2013
5)  74.0 in 2011
74.0 in 2016
7)  73.8 in 1999
8)  73.6 in 2018
9)  73.5 in 1949
10) 73.2 in 2012

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus
Temperature: 77F; Dew Point: 73F; Wind: SW at 14G23 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.08 ins. Hg, falling then rising
Visibility: 30 miles, distant haze
6-hr Max temp: 77F
6-hr Min temp: 74F
24-hr Precip: Trace
BHO SA 1155 E10 BKN 30 186/77/73/2214G22/008/ DSNT HZ/
8/5// 53006 MANUAL 700// 10077 20074

10 A.M.
Weather: Mostly clear, few cumulus all quadrants, few moderate cumulus
distant NW-NNW, few cirrus distant SW-N
Temperature: 86F; Dew Point: 69F; Wind: WSW at 15G21 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.09 ins. Hg, rising then steady
Visibility: 50 miles, distant haze
3-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1455 CLR 50 189/86/69/2415G21/009/ FEW CU ALQDS
FEW MDT CU DSNT NW-NNW FEW CI DSNT SW-N DSNT HZ/ 8/201 51003

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus, scattered cirrus
Temperature: 91F; Dew Point: 67F; Wind: WSW at 11 kts,
Wind: Direction variable S-W
Sea-level pressure: 30.07 ins. Hg, steady then falling
Visibility: 50 miles, distant haze
6-hr Max temp: 92F
6-hr Min temp: 77F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1755 40 SCT 250 SCT 50 183/91/67/2411/007/ DSNT HZ WND 19V28/
8/101 58005 10092 20077

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..82   NORMAL…..81
MIN…..66   NORMAL…..63
MEAN….74   NORMAL…..72

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….+2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………….+2 [+2.0 DEGREES/DAY]

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………9   DEPARTURE……….+2
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………9   DEPARTURE……….+2
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………464   DEPARTURE……..+106
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….432   DEPARTURE………+32

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………..31  S  AT  3:09 P.M.
AERO…………………….30  S  AT  3:09 P.M.
ASOS…………………….33  S  AT  3:10 P.M.
DAVIS……………………33  S  AT  3:09 P.M. RMY 31
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………….23  S  AT  6:13 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….23  S  AT  6:14 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE………………21  S  AT  3:14 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION……………11.7 S
ASOS……………………12.1
DAVIS…………………..11.0 SSW [195 deg.] *Last of several occurrences

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……….0.00  DEPARTURE……-0.15
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….34.01  DEPARTURE……+3.05
ASOS………….35.58

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JULY-AUGUST 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

7/01 94/72/83/+13/0.00/667/73       21 ESE AERO 18 ESE RMY 19
7/02 90/68/79/+9/0.00/858/94        21 S   AERO 21 S   RMY 22
7/03 94/69/82/+11/0.00/657/72       20 SSW AERO 18 SW  RMY 19 TSTM
7/04 89/73/81/+10/0.00/884/97       17 NE  AERO 15 NE  RMY 16
7/05 91/73/82/+11/0.00/865/95       29 SSW AERO 28 SSW RMY N/A
7/06 80/59/70/-1/0.56/018/02        37 NNW AERO 38 SW  RMY 40 TSTM
7/07 78/54/66/-5/0.00/900/99        22 N   AERO 18 N   RMY N/A
7/08 83/57/70/-2/0.00/890/98        23 S   AERO 21 S   RMY 22
7/09 88/60/74/+2/0.00/852/94        23 SW  AERO 23 SW  RMY 24
7/10 91/63/77/+5/0.10/751/83        24 W   AERO 22 W   RMY N/A
7/11 73/62/68/-4/0.63/705/78        28 NE  AERO 25 NE  RMY 27 TSTM
7/12 77/56/67/-5/0.00/867/96        16 NW  AERO 15 NW  RMY N/A
7/13 84/61/73/+1/0.00/568/63        23 SSE AERO 23 SSE RMY 24
7/14 80/61/71/-1/0.00/540/60        18 S   AERO 16 S   RMY 19
7/15 84/65/75/+3/T/521/58           16 S   AERO 15 S   RMY 14
7/16 83/67/75/+3/0.00/682/76        23 S   AERO 23 S   RMY 23
7/17 88/67/78/+6/1.34/430/48        31 SW  AERO 30 SW  RMY 32 TSTM
7/18 81/63/72/0/0.02/769/86         21 NW  AERO 22 NW  RMY 23
7/19 80/56/68/-4/0.00/874/98        21 S   AERO 17 SSE RMY 19
7/20 83/62/73/1/0.00/864/97         21 SE  AERO 17 ESE RMY 19
7/21 76/59/68/-4/…./738/83        23 ENE AERO 20 ENE RMY N/A
7/22 76/63/69/-3/…./009/01        29 ESE AERO 28 ESE RMY N/A
7/23 82/71/77/+5/…./327/37        32 S   AERO 30 S   RMY 32
7/24 85/72/79/+7/T/698/79           31 S   AERO 29 S   RMY 29
7/25 82/71/77/+5/…./159/18        35 SSE AERO 32 SSE RMY N/A
7/26 83/69/76/+5/…./…/..        41 SSW AERO 39 SSW RMY N/A TSTM
7/27 88/69/79/+7/…./…/..        25 S   AERO 23 SSW RMY 26
7/28 87/71/79/+7/…./…/..        28 S   AERO 26 S   RMY 29
7/29 82/67/75/+3/0.00/…/..        18 W   AERO 16 W   RMY 18
7/30 82/64/73/+1/0.00/…/..        18 W   AERO 16 W   RMY 17
7/31 86/63/75/+3/0.00/…/..        16 SSW AERO 15 W   RMY N/A

8/1  82/66/74/+2/T/…/..           31 S   AERO 30 S   RMY 31

8/2 Low temp since midnight is 74F; normal low is now 63F

DAILY RECORDS FOR JULY 2018

07/01/18: DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 72F,
TIES PREVIOUS RECORD OF 72F SET IN 1968

DAILY RECORDS FOR AUGUST 2018

None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 2
HIGH 101F IN 1975 [STATION RECORD MAXIMUM – Tied with 8/10/1949] LOW 50F IN 1929, 1947
PRECIP 1.59 INCHES IN 1946
PEAK GUST 50 MPH SW IN 2006

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 3
HIGH 96F IN 1930
LOW 50F IN 1976
PRECIP 1.45 INCHES IN 1979
PEAK GUST 52 MPH NW IN 2008 [TSTM]

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Jonathan O’Brien