Last year it came to my attention that the USA weather stations where we derive our temperature measurements, are not being maintained as they should. Where some met standards when they were built, the world around them has since changed. Shrubs have grown, airports were expanded, and towns built. The large majority of the weather stations in this country are in cities or at airports where the temperature is consistently warmer. Over the years I have spent a lot of time with a psychrometer in my hands, so have measured the temperature with expensive devices and have seen how proximity to buildings affect temperature readings.

As I have said many times before, this site is not about proving or disproving global warming, but it is about facts. This is one fact I thought of which you might need to be aware. There appears to be satellite data to support the contention that many of the ground based weather stations are inaccurate.

There is a personal reason I decided to write about this at this time. I am freezing my butt off, it’s 18 F at the moment. While sitting here at night writing I listen to the radio and too often I hear them give the temperature 2-5 degrees warmer than my own, fairly accurate, measuring devices. I am sure they fall far below the quality of commercial instruments. I am not the only one that has noticed this phenomenon.

When you are ready to write it off as mechanical inferiorities, you hear the weatherman say that at his house the temperature is the same as at my house. Any idiot in the world knows its warmer in the cities and at the airports where the official readings are taken.

Here is some information, take it for what its worth, but I think there is some value to it.

The `Surface Record’

Popularity: 10% [?]