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

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

WARMER TODAY AS THE DROUGHT CONTINUES....

Today we observed a good visibility of 70 miles
despite a smoke layer aloft. We were completely 
missed by some much needed rainfall too far to 
the east (refer to drought section below). Wind
was about 15 mph on average from the northwest,
becoming more westerly as the day went on. The 
highest gust so far today was 27 mph. Pressure
continues to drop, but you wouldn't guess it 
looking at the sky. What's being seen is partial
cloud cover, and a thin layer of smoke as well. 
The sun card has definitely been burning for the 
majority of the day. 

It has been 12 days since we've recorded any measurable
rainfall (0.01" on the 11th). Only 0.51" has fallen for
the month to date, which is 2.37 inches below normal. 
For the year, our deficit is running 4.58 inches below
normal. The region continues to be generally in a 
moderate drought, however severe drought conditions are
being observed across portions of south coastal
Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

-Drought section written by Matthew Douglas 

The high so far today is 77F, 8 degrees below the daily
normal max of 69F. The low since midnight is 50F, which
is 2 degrees below the normal low of 52F.


Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus and cirrus
Temperature: 52F; Dew Point: 40F; Relative Humidity: 63%
Wind: W at 12G17 kts 
Sea-level pressure: 29.77 ins. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 70 miles 
6-hr Max temp: 52F
6-hr Min temp: 50F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1155 160 SCT 250 SCT 70 080/52/40/2712G17/977/ 8/081 
51006 10052 20050

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, smoke layer aloft
Temperature: 69F; Dew Point: 45F; Relative Humidity: 42%
Wind: W at 12G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.77 ins. Hg: steady
Visibility: 70 miles 
3-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1455 CLR 70 080/69/45/2712G17/977/ THN K LYR ALF/ 50000

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus, smoke layer aloft
Temperature: 76F; Dew Point: 50F; Relative Humidity: 40%
Wind: WNW at 10G19 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.74 ins. Hg: falling steadily
Visibility: 65 miles
6-hr Max temp: 77F
6-hr Min temp: 52F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1755 50 SCT 65 069/76/50/2910G19/974/ THN K LYR ALF/ 
58011 10077 20052  


SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....63   NORMAL.....69
MIN.....39   NORMAL.....52
MEAN....51   NORMAL.....61

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL................-10
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH................-36 [-1.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............14  DEPARTURE..... +9
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............93  DEPARTURE.....+31
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............96  DEPARTURE......+9
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......76  DEPARTURE.....+20

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY............  0  DEPARTURE......-1                   
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH............ 50  DEPARTURE..... -3
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........807  DEPARTURE....+217
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......663  DEPARTURE....+144

PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY (MPH) 
                   420C/Official................28 NNW AT  3:11 P.M.  
                   AERO.........................30 NNW AT  3:00 P.M. 
                   ASOS.........................28 NNW AT  3:23 P.M.
                   DAVIS........................28 NNW AT  6:13 P.M.
                   RMY 29  MERLIN 29
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY......................20 NNW AT  6:14 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE...................20 NNW AT  3:23 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE..................20 NNW AT  4:17 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............13.8 NNW (330 total miles)        
                   ASOS.......................13.5
                   DAVIS......................13.8 NNW [342 deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00  DEPARTURE....-0.15
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.51  DEPARTURE....-2.37
                         ASOS..............0.51
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........33.32  DEPARTURE....-4.58
                         ASOS.............34.09

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 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
M:    Missing data

09/01  76/59/68/0/0.00/698/88              22 SSE  AERO 21 SE   RMY 20
09/02  69/59/64/-4/0.18/102/13             23 SSE  AERO 23 SSE  RMY 24
09/03  75/66/71/+4/0.04/000/00             22 SSW  AERO 21 SSW  RMY N/A
09/04  82/62/72/+5/0.00/763/98             26 WNW  AERO 26 WNW  RMY 25
09/05  76/55/66/-1/0.00/760/98             25 W    AERO 25 W    RMY 24
09/06  78/58/68/+1/0.00/356/46             24 W    AERO 24 W    RMY N/A
09/07  79/61/70/+4/0.00/632/82             27 SSE  AERO 30 SSE  RMY 28
09/08  82/61/72/+6/0.00/545/71             17 S    AERO 16 S    RMY 17
09/09  80/62/71/+5/0.00/214/28             16 S    AERO 15 S    RMY 16
09/10  81/69/75/+10/0.28/015/02            21 SSW  AERO 21 SSW  RMY N/A
09/11  72/55/64/-1/0.01/152/20             25 N    AERO 25 N    RMY N/A
09/12  68/51/60/-5/0.00/666/88             21 ENE  AERO 21 ENE  RMY 21
09/13  74/53/64/0/0.00/611/81              26 SSW  AERO 26 SSW  RMY 26
09/14  74/50/62/-2/0.00/511/68             29 NNW  AERO 33 NNW  RMY 30
09/15  64/44/54/-10/0.00/.../..            18 S    AERO 18 S    RMY N/A
09/16  72/49/61/-2/0.00/.../..             31 SSW  AERO 31 SSW  RMY 31
09/17  76/57/67/+4/0.00/.../..             26 WSW  AERO 28 W    RMY N/A
09/18  64/48/56/-6/0.00/.../..             28 NE   AERO 30 NNW  RMY N/A
09/19  59/42/51/-11/0.00/.../..            23 N    AERO 23 N    RMY N/A
09/20  58/40/49/-13/0.00/.../..            25 NE   AERO 25 NE   RMY 27
09/21  61/41/51/-10/0.00/.../..            29 NE   AERO 27 NE   RMY 29
09/22  63/39/51/-10/0.00/.../..            28 NNW  AERO 30 NNW  RMY 29

09/23 The low since midnight is 50F, the daily normal low is 52F


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

RECORDS FOR SEPTEMBER 23
HIGH 93F IN 1895,1914
LOW 33F IN 1904
PRECIP 2.67 INCHES IN 1994
PEAK GUST 62 MPH SSW IN 1989

RECORDS FOR SEPTEMBER 24
HIGH 87F IN 1959
LOW 33F IN 1885,1950,1963
PRECIP 1.19 INCHES IN 1955
PEAK GUST 54e MPH SW IN 1940

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Benjamin Turner