snow_wizard Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I have noticed this before, but today is such a perfect example I thought I would share it on here. Today SEA had a high of 46 and a low of 35 making for a daily average of 40.5 (rounded up to 41). Normal is 51-40 (should round to 46), so both values today were 5 degrees below normal, but somehow in NOAA's book a pair of -5s equates to a daily average departure of -4. Could someone please tell me why they round up for the current day's daily average temperature while they round down the for the normal average? I think it's pretty obvious they do anything to make things look warmer than they really are. I know this one thing is not a huge deal, but if they do enough similar smoke and mirrors tricks they can create an inaccurate picture. This post is in no way designed to mask the fact we have obviously seen warming over the past several decades. Quote Death To Warm Anomalies! Winter 2023-24 stats Total Snowfall = 1.0" Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1 Total Hail = 0.0 Total Ice = 0.2 Coldest Low = 13 Lows 32 or below = 45 Highs 32 or below = 3 Lows 20 or below = 3 Highs 40 or below = 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Ranger Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I don't think it's any kind of conspiracy, but I have wondered the same thing a few times. However, as long as it's always been averaged that way, it shouldn't matter for actual departures. Quote A forum for the end of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow_wizard Posted November 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I don't think it's any kind of conspiracy, but I have wondered the same thing a few times. However, as long as it's always been averaged that way, it shouldn't matter for actual departures. I don't think it always has been done that way. I have copies of the actual Weather Service records for Sea-Tac for several decades and the departures weren't done that way before. Quote Death To Warm Anomalies! Winter 2023-24 stats Total Snowfall = 1.0" Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1 Total Hail = 0.0 Total Ice = 0.2 Coldest Low = 13 Lows 32 or below = 45 Highs 32 or below = 3 Lows 20 or below = 3 Highs 40 or below = 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deweydog Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 Good lord... Quote My preferences can beat up your preferences’ dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLI snowman Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I caught James Hansen taking a warm, stinky poo on the ORD sensor equipment while I was there once for business during a cold period. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 Today SEA had a high of 46 and a low of 35 making for a daily average of 40.5 (rounded up to 41). Normal is 51-40 (should round to 46), so both values today were 5 degrees below normal, but somehow in NOAA's book a pair of -5s equates to a daily average departure of -4. Could someone please tell me why they round up for the current day's daily average temperature while they round down the for the normal average? Old thread, but most 1st order weather stations actually measured in 10ths, rather than whole numbers, even though most weather reports just show the whole numbers. A high range of 46 and 35 could be that the high that day was say 45.5 and the low was 34.6, which would show up as 46 and 35, but the average would show up as 40; or it could mean that the high was 46.4 and the low 35.4, which would show up as 41. Daily normals actually come from a smoothed over curve, rather than a true daily average (monthly and yearly normals are a true average). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.