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BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0636E
SUNSET: 1720E
OVERCAST SKIES WITH RAIN DEVELOPING THIS MORNING….
We started the day off with freezing fog early this morning
as we were in the clouds with temperatures below freezing.
There was some icing taking place on most surfaces due to
the fog. Luckly, the temperature rose above freezing by
the mid morning hours putting an end to the icing. However,
light rain began falling just before the 10am observation and
has been falling lightly ever since. On an interesting note,
yesterday saw the first liquid precipitation here on Blue
Hill since January 17th, a solid month of only snow!
Temperatures have “warmed” into the mid to upper 30s by early
this afternoon which is close to seasonal norms. With the air
being saturated, this means that the dew point is also in
the mid 30s. This is the first day this month so far that
the dew point has gotten above the freezing mark, and as
matter of fact, the first day since January 18th!
Winds were steady overnight into very early this morning,
but have diminished the light speeds during the morning and
into early this afternoon. It has also become rather variable
as well. The average speed for the day so far is around 8mph.
The peak gust so far has been 20mph, which occurred just before
5:45am this morning.
Visibility has been limited today by fog with the view mostly
under a 1/4 mile, but has at times reached around 5-6 miles
just before the rain started.
The maximum temperature so far today is 38F degrees, which is
equal to the normal high of 38F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 30F degrees, which is 10 degrees above the
normal low of 20F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Partial obscurement, broken stratus, broken
altocumulus/castellanus, overcast cirrus
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 31F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: WSW @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1014.6 mb; 29.96 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 1/8 mile, fog
6-hr Max temp: 31F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
24-hr Precip: Trace
24-hr Snowfall: Trace
Snow Depth: 16 inches
BHO SA 1155 -X E1 BKN 100 BKN 250 OVC 1/8F 146/31/31/2506/996/
SUN DMLY VSBL VRY LGT ICG WND LGT TOTAL NEW SNW PST 24 HRS TRACE/
8/681 4/016 58008 70000 10031 20030
10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratus, overcast nimbostratus, very light rain
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 35F; Relative Humidity: 98%
Wind: WNW @ 3 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1013.7 mb; 29.93 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 5 miles, fog
3-hr Precip: Trace
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E55 BKN 90 OVC 5R-F 137/35/35/2903/993/ R-B51
PCPN VRY LGT WND LGT/ 8/62/ 58009 6000/
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken stratus fractus, overcast nimbostratus,
very light rain
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 37F; Relative Humidity: 95%
Wind: Calm
Sea-level pressure: 1010.6 mb; 29.84 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 5 miles, fog
6-hr Max temp: 38F
6-hr Min temp: 31F
6-hr Precip: 0.02 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 15 inches
BHO SA 1755 E1 BKN 55 OVC 5R-F 106/38/37/0000/984/ SUN DMLY VSBL
PCPN VRY LGT WND CALM/ 8/72/ 4/015 58031 6002/ 10038 20031
————————————————————–
SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….37 NORMAL…..37
MIN…….26 NORMAL…..20
MEAN……32 NORMAL…..29
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+3
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………-55 [-3.4 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….33 DEPARTURE……..-3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (FEB)………698 DEPARTURE…….+55
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….4171 DEPARTURE……+125
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..3812 DEPARTURE……+359
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)………..18 WSW @ 09:12 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….19 WSW @ 09:12 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….20 WSW @ 09:12 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….20 S @ 10:16 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………20 S @ 10:39 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..19 WSW @ 09:12 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..19 WSW @ 08:50 P.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……21 WSW @ 09:12 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………12 WSW @ 09:14 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14 WSW @ 09:12 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..14 SW @ 09:12 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………14 SW @ 09:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………15 S @ 09:17 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..14 WSW @ 09:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..15 SW @ 09:12 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………14 WSW @ 09:12 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………8.1 SSW [195 total miles]
VECTOR #1……………….8.8
VECTOR #2……………….8.9
DAVIS #1………………..8.4 SSW
DAVIS #2………………..8.8 SW
RMY #1………………….8.7 SW
RMY #2………………….9.0 SW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..8.7
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…….TRACE DEPARTURE…..-0.15
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (FEB)……..0.43 DEPARTURE…..-1.88
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)……..4.05 DEPARTURE…..-2.76
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………TRACE DEPARTURE…..-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (FEB)…………..7.4 DEPARTURE…..-3.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……50.2 DEPARTURE…..+5.3
————————————————————–
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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
2/1 21/5/13/-13/T/0.1/367/61 36 N VEC1 36 N RMY 35
2/2 34/11/23/-3/0.00/0.0/550/91 25 NW VEC1 25 NW RMY 26
2/3 36/15/26/0/0.00/0.0/600/99 20 W VEC1 19 NNW RMY 18
2/4 32/17/25/-1/0.00/0.0/414/68 31 WNW VEC1 31 WNW RMY 34
2/5 33/13/23/-4/0.00/0.0/605/99 21 N VEC1 21 N RMY 20
2/6 29/14/22/-5/0.03/0.3/067/11 18 E VEC1 18 E RMY 18
2/7 25/2/14/-13/0.26/5.1/000/00 41 NW VEC1 41 NW RMY 47
2/8 19/-2/9/-18/0.00/0.0/563/91 38 NW VEC1 38 NW RMY 39
2/9 31/5/18/-9/0.00/0.0/615/99 38 NW VEC1 39 NW RMY 39
2/10 35/14/25/-2/0.12/1.6/305/49 33 SW VEC1 33 SW RMY 36
2/11 40/24/32/+5/0.02/0.3/269/43 41 NW VEC1 40 WNW RMY 43
2/12 36/21/29/+1/0.00/0.0/522/83 37 NW VEC1 37 NW RMY 39
2/13 38/16/27/-1/0.00/0.0/631/100 25 NNW VEC1 23 NNW RMY 26
2/14 35/23/29/+1/T/T/…/.. 23 W VEC1 23 W RMY 24
2/15 36/22/29/+1/0.00/0.0/…/.. 24 NNW VEC1 24 N RMY 24
2/16 37/25/31/+3/0.00/0.0/…/.. 21 ENE VEC1 21 ENE RMY 23
2/17 37/26/32/+3/T/T/…/.. 18 WSW VEC1 19 WSW RMY 19
2/18 The low since midnight is 30F, the daily normal low is 20F.
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FEBRUARY 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 FEBRUARY 18
HIGH 65F IN 1981
LOW -10F IN 1958
PRECIP 1.97 INCHES IN 1887, IN 1952
SNOWFALL 9.2 INCHES IN 1952
PEAK GUST 70 MPH S IN 2008
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 19
HIGH 66F IN 1981
LOW -5F IN 1923
PRECIP 2.73 INCHES IN 1972
SNOWFALL 8.9 INCHES IN 1964
PEAK GUST 76 MPH ENE IN 1972
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
