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Sunday, October 18, 2026

October 18, 2026

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2026 ALL TIMES ARE…

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

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0601E
SUNSET:  1657E

CHILLY MORNING FOLLOWED BY CLEAR SKIES, ALL DAY SUNSHINE….

Plenty of all-day sunshine today, with just a few clouds offshore
while a crisp, blue sky has been observed all day. Winds have been
significantly lighter and even though it has been colder today, it
feels quite comfortable and perfect for outdoor activities.

Temperatures dipped down to 32F early this morning, making it the
first time since April 21st that we’ve been that cold. Thankfully,
the all-day sunshine and dry conditions have warmed considerably
since, getting up to the mid 50’s by the afternoon. Dew points have
been in the mid to upper 20’s, which is very dry and why it felt
even more chilly this morning.

Winds have been on the light side today after a couple of days of
quite the opposite. Winds have been northerly in nature, but have
shifted from north-northwest to due north, and to north-northeast
throughout the first part of the day. The average speed for the day
so far is only around 7mph. The peak gust so far for the day is
16mph, which occurred just before 6am this morning.

Visibility has been perfect all day with 90 miles of beautiful views
throughout the observation period.

The maximum temperature so far today is 54F, which is 6 degrees
below the normal high of 60F. The minimum temperature since midnight
is 32F, which is 11 degrees below the normal low of 43F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant ENE-SSE
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 25F; Relative Humidity: 64%
Wind: N @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1035.5 mb; 30.58 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 90 miles
6-hr Max temp: 36F
6-hr Min temp: 32F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 90 355/36/25/3608/058/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT ENE-SSE/
8/500 53019 10036 20032

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant ENE-SSE
Temperature: 49F; Dew Point: 28F; Relative Humidity: 44%
Wind: ESE @ 4 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1036.8 mb; 30.62 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 90 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 CLR 90 368/49/28/1104/062/ FEW SC DSNT ENE-SSE WND LGT/
8/500 51013

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant WNW-SE
Temperature: 54F; Dew Point: 29F; Relative Humidity: 38%
Wind: ENE @ 2 kts, wind light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 1035.9 mb; 30.59 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 90 miles
6-hr Max temp: 54F
6-hr Min temp: 36F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 90 359/54/29/0602/059/ FEW SC DSNT WNW-SE WND L/V/
8/500 58009 10054 20036

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….57   NORMAL…..61
MIN…….34   NORMAL…..44
MEAN……46   NORMAL…..52

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….-6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH (OCT)…………………+43 [+2.3 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2026 THRU JUN 2027)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….19  DEPARTURE……..+6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (OCT)………135  DEPARTURE…….-40
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………..256  DEPARTURE…….-37
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………219  DEPARTURE…….+37

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2026 THRU DEC 2026)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………..0  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (OCT)……….10  DEPARTURE……..+4
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………..815  DEPARTURE……+139
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………756  DEPARTURE…….+59

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)………..35 NW   @   03:10 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….35 NNW  @   07:43 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….36 NW   @   03:17 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….34 NW   @   03:10 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………30 NNW  @   07:44 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..37 NW   @   03:10 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..37 NW   @   03:17 A.M.
MERLIN…………………33 NNW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……34 NW   @   03:10 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………25 NNW  @   07:44 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..25 NNW  @   07:44 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..23 NNW  @   07:44 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………25 NNW  @   07:45 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………22 N    @   07:44 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..25 NNW  @   07:44 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..23 NNW  @   07:57 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………24 NNW  @   07:44 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….12.5 NNW [301 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..12.8
VECTOR #2……………..13.2
DAVIS #1………………13.0 NNW
DAVIS #2…………………M
RMY #1………………..12.6 NNW
RMY #2………………..12.7 NNW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………13.0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.19
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (OCT)……..2.18 DEPARTURE…..-0.74
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….39.70 DEPARTURE…..-1.89

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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

10/1  74/56/65/+7/0.00/084/12             28 SW  VEC1 28 SW  RMY 27
10/2  84/63/74/+16/0.05/518/74            33 SW  VEC1 33 SW  RMY 32
10/3  68/51/60/+3/0.00/684/98             24 NNW VEC1 24 NNE RMY 24
10/4  63/49/56/-1/T/320/46                24 ESE VEC1 23 ESE RMY 22
10/5  69/46/58/+1/0.00/581/84             43 WNW VEC1 42 WNW RMY 43
10/6  60/41/51/-5/0.00/676/98             30 WNW VEC1 30 WNW RMY 31
10/7  65/40/53/-3/0.00/660/96             31 S   VEC1 31 S   RMY 31
10/8  70/53/62/+7/0.00/506/74             33 WNW VEC1 33 SSW RMY 34
10/9  66/47/57/+2/0.00/661/97             40 WNW VEC1 39 WNW RMY 40
10/10 62/44/53/-2/0.00/549/81             22 NW  VEC1 22 NW  RMY 23
10/11 58/48/53/-1/1.63/014/02             31 ENE VEC1 31 ENE RMY 31
10/12 68/47/58/+4/0.11/390/58             28 NE  VEC1 28 NE  RMY 27
10/13 59/50/55/+1/0.08/000/00             25 E   VEC1 25 ENE RMY 25
10/14 77/55/66/+13/0.01/394/59            31 WNW VEC1 30 WNW RMY 31
10/15 62/49/56/+3/0.00/…/..             33 NNW VEC1 34 NNW RMY 35
10/16 65/48/57/+5/0.30/…/..             33 SSW VEC1 33 SSW RMY 34
10/17 57/34/46/-6/0.00/…/..             35 NW  VEC1 35 NNW RMY 37

10/18 The low since midnight is 32F, the daily normal low is 43F.

————————————————————–

OCTOBER DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE.

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 18
HIGH 82F IN 1908
LOW 26F IN 1939
PRECIP 2.79 INCHES IN 1975
SNOWFALL 3.0 INCHES IN 2009
PEAK GUST 66 MPH S IN 1967

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 19
HIGH 81F IN 1945
LOW 21F IN 1922
PRECIP 3.64 INCHES IN 1932
SNOWFALL 1.0 INCHES IN 1972
PEAK GUST 66 MPH SSW IN 1967

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly

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Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center · Legal

Data Use & Privacy Policy

Please read the full Policy before accessing Observatory data · Effective January 1, 2025

Notice: By accessing, downloading, or using any Blue Hill Observatory data or services, you unconditionally accept and agree to be bound by this Policy in its entirety. If you do not agree, you may not access or use Observatory data.
Effective January 1, 2025 · Milton, Massachusetts · bluehill.live
Part I — Data Use Policy
§ 01

Ownership and Proprietary Rights

All observational records, compiled datasets, metadata, database structures, and related materials provided by the Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center are the exclusive property of the Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center. The Observatory has maintained continuous weather observations at the summit of Great Blue Hill since 1885, and the entirety of that record — its compilation, structure, curation, and organization — constitutes a proprietary database protected under applicable United States law, including copyright law and common law database protections.

All rights not expressly granted in this Policy are reserved by the Observatory. No access to or use of Observatory data shall be construed as a waiver of any rights or as a license to use data beyond the scope expressly stated herein.

§ 02

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. For interactions with international users, this Policy shall apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable local law.

Any dispute arising from or related to this Policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. By accessing Observatory data, all users consent to personal jurisdiction in Massachusetts and waive any objection to the venue or inconvenience of such forum.

§ 03

Permitted Uses

Observatory data are made available for the following limited, non-commercial purposes only:

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All other uses require prior written authorization from the Observatory.

§ 04

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“Data provided by the Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center, Milton, Massachusetts. Continuous weather observations since 1885.”

Failure to include proper attribution is a material violation of this Policy.

§ 05

Prohibited Uses

Unless explicitly authorized in writing, Users may not:

  • Resell, license, sublicense, or commercially exploit Observatory data in any form
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§ 06

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§ 07

Automated Access

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§ 08

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Violation of this Policy may result in immediate revocation of data access, pursuit of legal remedies available under United States law, and referral to applicable authorities. The Observatory reserves all rights to seek injunctive relief, damages, and attorneys’ fees in connection with any unauthorized use of its data.

Part II — Privacy Policy
§ 09–10

Scope & Information Collected

This section governs the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information from visitors to the Blue Hill Observatory website and users of its data services. The Observatory may collect contact information (name, email, organization) when voluntarily submitted, usage data including IP addresses and pages visited, and data download records.

§ 11–12

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Information is used solely for: responding to inquiries and licensing requests; monitoring and enforcing compliance with this Policy; improving website performance; and communicating Observatory news to opted-in users. The Observatory does not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. Data access records may be retained indefinitely for compliance and enforcement purposes.

§ 13

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§ 14–16

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Part III — General Provisions
§ 17–20

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Effective January 1, 2025 · Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center · Milton, Massachusetts