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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

WEAK FRONT BRINGS BRIEF MORNING RAIN SHOWER

A weak front moved across the region today bringing a very brief shower 
during the 7:00AM observation leaving just a trace of precipitation. 
Skies cleared to mostly sunny by the afternoon. After the passage of 
the front, the relative humidity dropped to the 40-50% range.

Winds were much lighter after yesterday's gusty conditions and remained 
below 20 MPH. Temperatures dropped to a overnight low of 65F and reached 
a max of 88F by 1:00PM.

Today's Observations:

7 A.M. 
Weather: Light rain, 2 layers of broken altostratus
Temperature: 68F; Dew Point: 59F; Wind: WSW at 7 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.01 ins. Hg, rising, then falling
Visibility: 70 miles, except 40 miles SE-SSW
6-hr Max temp: 68F 
6-hr Min temp: 65F
24-hr precip: 0.00 in.
BHO SA 1155 E140 BKN 220 BKN 70R- 162/68/59/2407/001/ VSBY SE-SSW 40/ 
8/020 58001 10068 20065

10 A.M.
Weather: Few altocumulus E-S, scattered cirrus
Temperature: 81F; Dew Point: 60F; Wind: WSW at 09G16 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.99 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1455 250 SCT 70 156/81/60/2509G16/999/ FEW AC E-S/ 8/032 58006 
MANUAL 600//

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus, few cirrus in all directions
Temperature: 87F; Dew Point: 59F; Wind: WSW at 7 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.95 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 70 miles    
6-hr Max temp: 88F
6-hr Min temp: 68F
6-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1755 59 SCT 70 141/87/59/2507/995/ FEW CI ALQDS/ 8/101 58015 
MANUAL 600// 10088 20068

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016 
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....84   NORMAL.....79
MIN.....68   NORMAL.....62 
MEAN....76   NORMAL.....71

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL........................+5
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.......................+72 [+4.0 DEGREES/DAY]

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............11   DEPARTURE..........+5
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............183   DEPARTURE.........+68
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............657   DEPARTURE........+191
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......539   DIFFERENCE.......+118   

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................38 W   AT 7:43 A.M.*  
                   AEROVANE....................35 W   AT 7:56 A.M.      
                   ASOS........................39 W   AT 7:58 A.M.  
                   DAVIS.......................37 S   AT 1:47 A.M. RMY 39
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................30 WSW AT 7:58 A.M.*  
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................30 W   AT 7:58 A.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................25 S   AT 1:49 A.M.   
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............16.2 W
                   ASOS......................14.8
                   DAVIS.....................13.8 W [260 Deg.]
* Last of several occurrences

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M... 0.00  DEPARTURE......-0.13
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.99  DEPARTURE......-1.37
                         ASOS..............0.97
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........24.18  DEPARTURE......-9.17
                         ASOS.............24.48
 

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR 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

8/1  75/65/70/-2/0.02/320/37                 21 NE  AERO 20 ENE RMY 20
8/2  71/63/67/-5/0.12/000/00                 16 ENE AERO 16 ENE RMY 16
8/3  81/60/71/-1/0.00/603/70                 18 S   AERO 16 S   RMY 17
8/4  86/61/74/+2/0.00/833/97                 23 S   AERO 22 S   RMY 17 
8/5  87/61/74/+2/0.00/823/96                 29 S   AERO 29 S   RMY 30 
8/6  88/67/78/+6/T/419/49                    24 SSW AERO 23 SSW RMY 23   
8/7  89/65/77/+5/0.00/784/92                 26 WNW AERO 25 WNW RMY 26
8/8  87/63/75/+3/0.00/816/96                 23 W   AERO 21 W   RMY 22
8/9  90/65/78/+6/0.00/789/93                 25 SSW AERO 24 SSW RMY 25
8/10 76/66/71/+0/0.28/017/02                 30 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY 33
8/11 93/73/83/+12/T/666/79                   22 SSW AERO 21 SSW RMY 22
8/12 95/74/85/+14/0.00/487/58                30 SW  AER0 30 SW  RMY 31 
8/13 77/67/72/+1/0.16/.../..                 25 NNW AERO 36 NNW RMY N/A TSTM
8/14 94/69/82/+11/0.39/.../..                39 SSW AERO 40 SSW RMY N/A TSTM
8/15 89/68/79/+8/0.00/.../..                 25 W   AERO 24 W   RMY 28
8/16 83/69/76/+5/0.02/.../..                 31 S   AERO 30 S   RMY N/A
8/17 84/68/76/+5/0.00/.../..                 38 W*  AERO 35 W   RMY 39

8/18 Low temp since midnight is 65F; normal low is now 62F

DAILY RECORDS FOR AUGUST 2016
8/11/16: NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73F,
TIES PREVIOUS RECORDS SET IN 1900 AND 1988

8/12/16: NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 74F,
TIES PREVIOUS RECORD SET IN 1988

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

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 18
HIGH 93F IN 2002
LOW 47F IN 1824
PRECIP 5.75 INCHES IN 1955 [DIANE]
PEAK GUST 46 MPH WNW IN 2007

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 19
HIGH 90F IN 1906, 1966, 2002
LOW 48F IN 1958
PRECIP 7.02 INCHES IN 1955 [DIANE - RECORD FOR MONTH]
PEAK GUST 78 MPH ENE IN 1991 - HURRICANE BOB 

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Cecilia Borries-Strigle and Lizzy Suzedell