BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02186
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2009
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
OUTER RAIN BAND FROM HURRICANE BILL
BRINGS DOWNPOUR EARLY SUNDAY MORNING
TEMPS. AVERAGE 9.4 WARMER THAN NORMAL
SINCE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH
MINIMUM TEMP. OF 69F EQUALS DAILY RECORD
 
An outer rain band moved from east to
west late Saturday night as the center of
Hurricane Bill was passing a couple of
hundred miles to our southeast. A
sudden downpour left a half inch of
rain in about 35 minutes starting just
about 1 a.m. EDT. Peak wind gusts were
around 23 MPH mostly from the north.   
Starting August 15 and continuing through
August 23 our temperatures have averaged
9 degrees warmer than normal over this 
nine day period. 
The minimum temperature of 69F yesterday
equaled the record high minimum for the
date of 69F set on August 23, 1906.
 
 
Today's observations:
 
7 A.M.  
Weather: Overcast stratus, breaks overhead and east through
southeast, thin fog 
Temperature: 71F, Dew point: 70F, Wind: NW at 4 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.98 inches Hg, rising
Visibility: 3 miles, thin fog  
6-hour minimum temp: 67F
BHO SA 1155 E3 OVC 3F 154/71/70/3104/998/
OCNL SML BINOVC OVHD-E-SE/ 8/6// 51015 10071 20067
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, broken cumulus
and stratocumulus, moderate cumulus and cumulus
building all quadrants
Temperature: 77F, Dew point: 68F, Wind: N at 4 kts,
Wind: light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 30.02 inches Hg, rising
Visibility: 12 miles, north 10 miles,
and northeast through east 8 miles, fog bank
along and offshore
BHO SA 1455 15 SCT E18 BKN 250 BKN 12 165/77/68/3504/002/
MDT CU/CU BLDG ALQDS DRK BASES CIG RGD FG BNK ALG/OFFSHR
NE-E VSBY N 10 NE-E 8 HAZY ALQDS WND L/V/ 8/801 51011 
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus, cumulus congestus, and
cirrus 
Temperature: 82F, Dew point: 68F, Wind: ESE at 2 kts,
Wind: estimated and light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 30.01 inches Hg, falling
Visibility: 20 miles, NE-SE 15, west 25 miles, hazy
6-hourly max. temp: 82F 
BHO SA 1755 38 SCT 55 SCT 250 SCT 300 SCT 20 162/82/68/E1202/001/
MDT CU ALQDS VSBY NE-SE 15 W 25 HAZY ALQDS WND L/V/ 8/205 58003
10082 20071
 
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 23
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....86    NORMAL.....78
MIN.....69    NORMAL.....60
MEAN....78    NORMAL.....69
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR AVERAGE..........+ 9
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH...........+81 [+3.3 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DATA WILL RESUME IN SEPTEMBER
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY.............25 S   AT 4:36 P.M.
                   AEROVANE..............22 S   AT 4:36 P.M. 
                   ASOS..................23 S   AT 4:37 P.M.  
                   DAVIS.................26 NW  AT 1:50 A.M. * 
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY...............16 S   AT 4:47 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE............17 S   AT 4:51 P.M.  
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE...........17 WNW AT 2:39 A.M. *
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION....... 9.3 S 
                   ASOS.................9.1
                   DAVIS............... 9.0 W [260 DEG]
 
* Davis peak speeds for day as center of Hurricane BILL passed 180 miles
  to our east-southeast; speeds speeded up slightly by configuration
  of anemometer on mast
 
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..........1.71   DEPARTURE....-1.25
                         ASOS..............1.72
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........32.97   DEPARTURE....+0.60
                         ASOS.............34.10
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 2009 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/AERO GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust when significant
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
....: Data not yet available, records not finalized
 
8/1  83/63/73/+1/0/823/95    18 SSE
8/2  77/64/71/-1/T/104/12    25 SSE
8/3  84/67/76/+4/0/638/74    17 SW
8/4  83/66/75/+3/0/714/83    23 S
8/5  86/67/77/+5/T/378/44    27 SSW  TSTM
8/6  76/61/69/-3/0/564/66    18 SSE
8/7  79/58/69/-2/0/836/98    32 W
8/8  74/55/65/-6/0/791/93    21 WNW
8/9  76/59/68/-3/T/178/21    25 SSE 
8/10 87/66/77/+6/0.12/584/69 27 W    TSTM 
8/11 84/66/75/+4/0.54/684/81 25 NE   TSTM 
8/12 67/63/65/-6/T/000/00    18 N
8/13 66/60/63/-8/0.18/042/05 23 NNE
8/14 83/58/71/+1/0/762/91    16 S
8/15 88/66/77/+7/0/810/97    18 S
8/16 90/68/79/+9/0/749/90    22 S
8/17 91/69/80/+10/0/.../..   21 WSW
8/18 91/72/82/+12/0/.../..   29 SSW
8/19 89/71/80/+10/0/.../..   23 SW
8/20 83/70/77/+8/0.34/.../.. 21 SSE  TSTM
8/21 88/72/80/+11/0/.../..   40 S    AERO 39 MPH S
8/22 86/71/79/+10/../.../..  28 S
8/23 86/69/78/+9/../.../..   25 S
 
8/24 our morning low temp: 67F; the normal low is now 60F
 
NEW DAILY RECORDS FOR AUGUST 2009 TO DATE...
 
8/19: RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE 71F;
      equals record previously set in 2002
8/23: RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE 69F;
      equals record previously set in 1906
 
DAILY EXTREMES
 
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 24
HIGH 92F IN 1947
LOW 43F IN 1971
PRECIP 1.92 INCHES IN 1897
PEAK GUST 54 MPH W 1986
 
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 25
HIGH 93F IN 1947, 1948, 2007
LOW 41F IN 1940
PRECIP 1.72 INCHES IN 1958
PEAK GUST 60e MPH SSW 1941
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Skilling