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BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0457E
SUNSET: 1838E
CLEAR START WITH PLENTY OF SUNSHINE, THEN INCREASING CLOUDS;
CONTINUED WARM AND HUMID….
Unlike the past couple of days, today started with clear skies and
plenty of sunshine. Mid and high level clouds have been increasing
from the west as the day has progressed. Some diurnal cumulus also
popped up by late this morning into early this afternoon, before
starting the dissipate with the loss of heating due to the advancing
higher clouds.
Temperatures warmed to the mid to upper 80s early this afternoon,
but have since dropped back some due to the loss of the sunshine.
Dew point values were generally in the mid 60s through the morning,
but lower a bit to the low 60s early this afternoon. Nonetheless,
it’s still on the humid side out there once again today.
Winds were steady during the first few hours of the day, then
really dropped off a cliff thereafter. Most of the daylight hours
have featured rather light and variable wind. The average speed
for the day so far is around 7mph. The highest gust so far for
the day, which occurred just before 1pm, was only 16mph.
Visibility has been holding at around 40 miles throughout the day
due to general haziness.
The maximum temperature so far today is 87F, which is 7 degrees
above the normal high of 80F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 65F, which is 3 degrees above the normal low of 62F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few altocumulus/castellanus distant WSW-NW,
few cirrus distant ESE-SW
Temperature: 72F; Dew Point: 64F; Relative Humidity: 76%
Wind: NW @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1015.7 mb; 29.99 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 72F
6-hr Min temp: 65F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 40 157/72/64/3206/999/ FEW AC/ACC DSNT WSW-NW
FEW CI DSNT ESE-SW HAZY WND LGT/ 8/081 53011 10072 20065
10 A.M.
Weather: Broken cirrus, few cumulus all quadrants, few altocumulus
distant WNW-N
Temperature: 82F; Dew Point: 65F; Relative Humidity: 55%
Wind: WNW @ 3 kts, wind light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 1016.2mb; 30.01 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 E250 BKN 40 162/82/65/3003/001/ FEW CU ALQDS
FEW AC DSNT WNW-N HAZY WND L/V/ 8/251 51005
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus, broken altocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 87F; Dew Point: 61F; Relative Humidity: 42%
Wind: W @ 4 kts, wind light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 1015.9 mb; 30.00 in. Hg: falling unsteadily
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 87F
6-hr Min temp: 72F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 55 SCT E140 BKN 250 BKN 40 159/87/61/2804/000/
HAZY WND L/V/ 8/251 57003 10087 20072
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SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….87 NORMAL…..80
MIN…….67 NORMAL…..63
MEAN……77 NORMAL…..71
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+55 [+2.7 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……..-5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………….2 DEPARTURE…….-10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………..6 DEPARTURE……..-4
COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2026 THRU DEC 2026)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….12 DEPARTURE……..+5
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (AUG)………193 DEPARTURE…….+52
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………..690 DEPARTURE……+163
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………645 DEPARTURE…….+45
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)………..28 W @ 02:55 P.M.*
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….27 W @ 02:30 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….27 W @ 02:55 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….28 W @ 02:55 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………27 W @ 03:08 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..28 W @ 02:25 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..27 W @ 02:55 P.M.
MERLIN…………………26 W
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……27 WSW @ 02:28 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………20 W @ 02:31 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..20 W @ 02:29 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..20 W @ 03:46 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………21 WSW @ 02:30 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………19 W @ 03:46 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..20 W @ 02:29 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..19 W @ 03:46 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………19 W @ 02:29 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..8.5 WSW [203 total miles]
VECTOR #1………………8.8
VECTOR #2………………8.7
DAVIS #1……………….8.6 WSW
DAVIS #2…………………M
RMY #1…………………8.6 WSW
RMY #2…………………8.7 WSW
RICHARDS (C5C)………….8.6
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.12
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (AUG)……..0.75 DEPARTURE…..-1.71
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….24.85 DEPARTURE…..-8.31
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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/+7/0.00/814/96 28 W VEC1 27 W RMY 28
8/10 87/66/77/+5/0.00/609/72 24 W VEC1 24 W RMY 25
8/11 86/67/77/+5/0.00/792/94 26 WNW VEC1 26 WNW RMY 28
8/12 85/64/75/+3/T/781/93 18 W VEC1 18 W RMY 18
8/13 85/65/75/+3/0.01/679/81 26 WNW VEC1 25 WNW RMY 26
8/14 83/62/73/+1/0.00/710/85 21 NW VEC1 21 NNW RMY 22
8/15 81/59/70/-2/0.00/691/83 18 WNW VEC1 19 NNE RMY 19
8/16 82/57/70/-2/T/722/87 31 SW VEC1 31 SW RMY 31
8/17 75/63/69/-3/0.03/…/.. 29 S VEC1 28 S RMY 32
8/18 80/64/72/+1/0.00/…/.. 18 SSE VEC1 18 SSE RMY 18
8/19 87/67/77/+6/0.00/…/.. 28 W VEC1 27 W RMY 28
8/20 The low since midnight is 65F, the daily normal low is 62F.
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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 20
HIGH 94F IN 2022
LOW 48F IN 1896, 1905, 1949
PRECIP 2.71 INCHES IN 1970
PEAK GUST 47 MPH W IN 1983, 47 SSW IN 2010
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 21
HIGH 92F IN 1937, 1995
LOW 47F IN 1982
PRECIP 2.84 INCHES IN 1888
PEAK GUST 54 MPH WSW IN 2004
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
