BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2016
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
ANOTHER WARM, DRY DAY
 
Today is yet another day of warm, dry conditions at the summit, with a high
temperature so far today of 87F.  Every day here since August 4 has featured
at or above normal temperatures, and that streak will continue today.  Skies
have been mostly clear to partly cloudy, with a few cumulus clouds developing
and some cirrus mainly to our west this afternoon.  This comes ahead of a
cold front that will pass by the region this evening and bring our only
chance at rain for the next several days.  In advance of this front, dew
points are surprisingly low, only in the mid-50s this afternoon.
 
With a monthly rainfall total of 0.99 inches so far and a rainfall total of
only 4.11 inches so far this summer, the annual precipitation departure has
dropped to -9.56 inches relative to the 1981-2010 30-year normal. The summer
total is one of the driest, though it will not be the driest summer on record.
 
Today's Observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, stratocumulus distant SSW-NNW, few cirrus mostly S-NNW,
small fire 10 miles NW with light smoke plume
Temperature: 69F; Dew Point: 62F; Wind: SE at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.99 ins. Hg, steady then rising slightly
Visibility: 55 miles, except 35 miles SW-NW, distant haze
6-hr Max temp: 69F
6-hr Min temp: 63F
24-hr precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 55 155/69/62/1407/999/ SC DSNT SSW-NNW
FEW CI MSTLY S-NNW SML FIRE 10 MI NW LGT K PLUME VSBY SW-NW 35
DSNT HZ/ 8/501 53004 10069 20063
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few cumulus distant SW-NW few cirrus SSW-N
Temperature: 79F; Dew Point: 60F; Wind: SE at 9 kts,
Wind: Direction variable ESE-S
Sea-level pressure: 29.97 ins. Hg, rising slightly then falling
Visibility: 60 miles, light distant haze 
BHO SA 1455 CLR 60 149/79/60/1409/997/ FEW CU DSNT SW-NW
FEW CI SSW-N LGT DSNT HZ WND 11V18/ 8/101 58006
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus, few cumulus all quadrants except N-NNE
Temperature: 86F; Dew Point: 52F; Wind: SSE at 8 kts,
Wind: Direction variable SE-S
Sea-level pressure: 29.91 ins. Hg, falling
Visibility: 60 miles, light distant haze    
6-hr Max temp: 87F
6-hr Min temp: 69F
BHO SA 1755 250 SCT 60 129/86/52/1608/991/ FEW CU ALQDS XCPT NNE-N
LGT DSNT HZ WND 12V19/ 8/101 57020 10087 20069
 
SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2016
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....86   NORMAL.....79
MIN.....65   NORMAL.....62
MEAN....76   NORMAL.....70
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL........................+6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.......................+92 [+4.4 DEGREES/DAY]
 
COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............11   DEPARTURE..........+5
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............219   DEPARTURE.........+86
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............693   DEPARTURE........+209
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......581   DIFFERENCE.......+112  
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................25  S    AT  4:49 P.M.*
                   AEROVANE....................23  S    AT  4:41 P.M.*
                   ASOS........................25  S    AT  4:50 P.M.
                   DAVIS.......................24  SSE  AT  1:45 P.M. RMY 25
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................18  S    AT  2:45 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................20  SSW  AT  2:48 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................19  S    AT  2:48 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............10.6 SSE
                   ASOS.......................10.0
                   DAVIS......................9.6 SSE [161 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......-1.76
                         ASOS..............0.97
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........24.18  DEPARTURE......-9.56
                         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 89/65/77/+6/T/.../..                    22 SW  AERO 20 SW  RMY 21
8/19 86/68/77/+7/0.00/.../..                 17 S   AERO 16 SSE RMY 17 
8/20 86/65/76/+6/0.00/.../..                 25 S   AERO 23 S   RMY 25
 
8/21 Low temp since midnight is 63F; normal low is now 61F
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR AUGUST 2016
8/11/16: DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73F,
         TIES PREVIOUS RECORD SET IN 1900 AND 1988
 
8/12/16: 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 21
HIGH 92F IN 1937, 1995
LOW 47F IN 1982
PRECIP 2.84 INCHES IN 1888
PEAK GUST 54 MPH WSW IN 2004
 
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 22
HIGH 90F IN 1939
LOW 42F IN 1894
PRECIP 2.28 INCHES IN 1935
PEAK GUST 44 MPH SSW IN 1987
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Jonathan O'Brien