Tuesday, May 16, 2023
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2023
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0422E
SUNSET: 1900E
HIGH CLOUDS AND A SMOKE LAYER FILTERING WARM SUNSHINE TODAY…
Sun has been dimly shining today as it’s been filtered by both
some high clouds and a smoke layer aloft. The smoke is once again
visiting the region from the province of Alberta Canada where
wildfires continue to burn.
Despite the filtered nature of the sun, the temperature has been
able to reach the upper 70s. With dew points in the 30s to near
40, the air is very dry as depicted by relative humidity levels
below 30%. For this reason and the windy conditions, a Red Flag
Warning is in effect for the region due to the high fire danger.
The wind has been busy today generally out of the west with an
average speed of around 15mph for the day so far. Gusts have been
exceeding 30mph at times.
Visibility has been limited to 30-40 miles today, thanks in part
to the smoke and pollen in the air.
The high so far today was 79F, which is 12 degrees above our
normal max temperature of 67F. Our low since midnight was 55F,
which is 7 degrees above our normal low temperature of 48F.
————————————————————–
Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast cirrostratus
Temperature: 59F; Dew Point: 37F; Relative Humidity: 42%
Wind: WSW @ 12 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1007.6 mb; 29.75 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 59F
6-hr Min temp: 55F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E220 OVC 40 076/59/37/2512/975/ HAZY/ 8/007 58008
10059 20055
10 A.M.
Weather: Broken cirrostratus/cirrocumulus, thin smoke layer aloft
all quadrants
Temperature: 66F; Dew Point: 36F; Relative Humidity: 32%
Wind: W @ 13G20 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1005.6 mb; 29.70 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1455 E220 BKN 40 056/66/36/2713G20/970/ THN K LYR ALF ALQDS
HAZY/ 8/009 58020
1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus all quadrants, thin smoke layer aloft
all quadrants
Temperature: 77F; Dew Point: 40F; Relative Humidity: 26%
Wind: WSW @ 13G22 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1001.4mb; 29.57 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 30 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 79F
6-hr Min temp: 59F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1755 CLR 30 014/77/40/2513G22/957/ FEW CI ALQDS
THN K LYR ALF ALQDS HAZY/ 8/001 58042 10079 20059
————————————————————–
SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, MAY 15, 2023
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….72 NORMAL…..67
MIN…….45 NORMAL…..48
MEAN……59 NORMAL…..57
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………+2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………..+41 [+2.5 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2022 THRU JUN 2023)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….6 DEPARTURE……..-2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..106 DEPARTURE…….-46
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………5077 DEPARTURE……-962
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….5528 DEPARTURE……-451
COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2023 THRU DEC 2023)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….0 DEPARTURE……..-1
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………13 DEPARTURE……..+6
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………..22 DEPARTURE…….+12
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………18 DEPARTURE……..+4
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)……….E33 W @ 04:32 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….35 W @ 04:32 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….34 W @ 04:51 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….35 W @ 04:33 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………32 WSW @ 04:51 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..34 W @ 04:57 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..34 W @ 04:51 P.M.
MERLIN…………………34 W
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……34 @ 04:33 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………25 W @ 04:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..25 @ 04:34 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..24 @ 04:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………27 W @ 04:35 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………24 W @ 04:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..24 W @ 04:34 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..23 W @ 04:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………25 @ 04:34 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………12.0 W [287 total miles]
VECTOR #1……………….11.8
VECTOR #2……………….12.3
DAVIS #1………………..12.2 W
DAVIS #2………………..12.4 WNW
RMY #1………………….11.6 W
RMY #2………………….12.1 WNW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..12.0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.12
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.45 DEPARTURE…..-1.34
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR…………..18.65 DEPARTURE…..-1.92
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
————————————————————–
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/…/.. 26 WNW VEC1 27 W RMY 28
5/8 74/49/62/+7/0.03/0.0/…/.. 32 NW VEC1 33 NW RMY 35
5/9 60/45/53/-3/0.00/0.0/…/.. 24 NE VEC1 25 NE RMY 25
5/10 72/51/62/+6/0.00/0.0/…/.. 25 WSW VEC1 26 WSW RMY 26
5/11 81/53/67/+11/T/0.0/…/.. 30 W VEC1 30 W RMY 30
5/12 84/57/71/+14/T/0.0/…/.. 31 WNW VEC1 35 WNW RMY 34
5/13 81/58/70/+13/0/0.0/…/.. 28 NNW VEC1 30 NNW RMY 35
5/14 66/47/57/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 28 NNW VEC1 29 NNW RMY 31
5/15 72/45/59/+2/0.00/0.0/…/.. 33 W VEC1 35 W RMY 34
5/16 The low since midnight is 55F, the daily normal low is 48F
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)
RECORDS FOR MAY 16
HIGH 90F IN 1951
LOW 30F IN 1936
PRECIP 2.63 INCHES IN 1954
PEAK GUST 56e MPH NW IN 1952
RECORDS FOR MAY 17
HIGH 90F IN 2017
LOW 34F IN 1956, 1957
PRECIP 2.07 INS IN 1916
PEAK GUST 52 MPH SW IN 1967, W IN 1974
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
