This is turning out to be rather consistent. There have been a couple that are flatter trend lines, but the airports are consistently in the ‘warmer than the average’ group and often in the top few. ( it would be very interesting to figure out what Wunderground uses to rank stations. It can’t just be temperature as they are in scatter on the trend line, perhaps distance or elevation?)
For each of these major Airports, I’ll put up the graph, the average of the data, the difference between the Airport data item and the average, in both F and C. Two graphs will be given for each. One that is “all data” not filtered for High and Low (though on one I tossed a duplicate that was identical on all terms including location and time of datum) and the next having the Highest and Lowest value tossed out (or sometimes 2 or more if they had a tie for a value). These are graphed with a gap in the chart on the missing data item so that the graphs can be visually easily compared. Remember that the very first data point on the left will be the airport itself.
To me, with this added group of charts, it’s pretty darned clear that these large airports are not at all representative of their locations and are consistently on the hot side. This data was gathered in the dead of night, so while not an absolute “coldest” are from what ought to be a ‘cold and cooling’ time for that station and nearby stations. It looks to me like Airports just don’t cool down very fast and have a couple of degrees lag. (I have looked at the nearby station during the daytime and while it is a bit warmer, it isn’t as big a difference. Clearly a day / night comparison set needs to be done too. The same stations compared at 3 PM and 3 AM (or some similar standardized time) to see if there is a consistent pattern; such as both warms and cools more slowly, or warms faster and further then stays hot higher and longer.
My first instinct is that solar heating will be more effective but on cloudy / rainy days there will be little difference to the hot side. Cooling at night to lag due to thermal mass of concrete and asphalt, but not when it snows or perhaps even in heavy rain. That’s the working thesis at any rate. What we see in these graphs is just that the airports are hotter than their ‘nearby’ reporting stations and that difference tends to increase as you move down the Wunderground list (though not always).
The two earlier postings in this series are:
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/salt-lake-city-airport/
Anchorage Alaska Elmendorf AFB
All data:
Anchorage Alaska Elmendorf AFB all data 25 July 2012
Anchorage Alaska Elmendorf AFB -HL 25 July 2012
Airport Temp: 55
Average: 52.04
Difference: 2.96 F 1.64 C
Honolulu Hawaii
This one is a very large difference. If there is a solar heating component, that would tend to show up more in the tropics. Then again, in Hawaii, temperatures don’t change much… so I’m really wondering why the Airport is so hot. IIRC, this was where WUWT found a broken sensor that was not replaced for a long time. Once can only wonder if they are having more sensor problems; or if the new sensor is just in a very hot place surrounded by concrete and tarmac.
Honolulu Hawaii PHNL all data compared to ‘nearby’ stations 25 July 2012
Airport Temp: 77
Average: 72.75
Difference: 4.25 F 2.36 C
Honolulu Hawaii PHNL minus High and 3 Lows 25 July 2012
Airport Temp: 77
Average: 74.09
Difference: 2.91 F 1.62 C
Why take out the three lowest temperatures? They were all fairly low and at fairly high altitudes, so unlikely to be an accurate comparison to a nearly sea level airport. There are other data points in the set of data that are at some altitude, so perhaps an altitude adjustment could be made to find out bias minus adiabatic lapse rate. (Data blocks at the end down below).
Sacramento, California McClellan AFB
Sacramento California, McClellan AFB 25 July 2012 all data
Airport Temp: 64
Average: 62.7
Difference: 1.3 F 0.7 C
Sacramento California, McClellan AFB -High and Low 25 July 2012
Airport Temp: 64
Average: 62.8
Difference: 1.2 F 0.7 C
Sacramento in July is often over 90 F and often stays in the 80 F range into the night. I grew up about 70 miles north of Sacramento and temperatures in the 60 F range at night in summer is fairly rare. It can happen, especially down near Sacramento when the winds start up off the San Franciso Bay / Delta waters. It has been fairly overcast and cloudy here a lot lately (rather like it was back in the 1950s) but that ought not to change the relative positions of the airport vs nearby too much (other than flattening the trend compared to solar heated tarmac a bit).
Still, a closer look at Sacramento on a clear hot sunny day and night would be in order.
Washington DC KDCA
The nation’s capital. It can get hot in that urban complex in the summer…
Washington DC KDCA all data 25 July 2012 ‘nearby’ stations
Airport Temp: 74
Average: 71.95
Difference: 2.05 F 1.14 C
Wash DC KDCA -High and – 2 Lows 25 July 2012 for ‘nearby’ stations
Airport Temp: 74
Average: 72.15
Difference: 1.85 F 1.03 C
The Data Grabbed in the dead of night
Anchorage
Anchorage, AK 1:16 AM AKDT on July 25, 2012 (GMT -0800) Elev: 98 ft Lon: 149.9° W Lat: 61.2° N Source Rapid Fire Updates™ Updated 22 min 34 sec ago Tropical Weather: Invest 98l (North Atlantic) Invest 90e (East Pacific) Anchorage Weather at a Glance Weather Station Elmendorf AFB (PAED) Elevation 210 ft Station Select Now Overcast Temperature 55 °F Feels Like 55 °F Wind(mph) 7 Sunrise / Set 5:15 AM 10:54 PM Weather Stations Station Location Temp. Windchill Dew Point Humidity Wind Precipitation Elevation Updated Type Website Government Hill, Anchorage, AK 54.2 °F - 51 °F 87% WSW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 94 ft 8 min 4 sec ago Normal NOS_PORTS Anchorage, AK, Anchorage, AK 56 °F - - - SSW at 4 mph 0.00 in / hr 0 ft 30 min 1 sec ago MADIS The Spurlocks at Airport Heights, Anchorage, AK 54.6 °F - 48 °F 78% South at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 104 ft 23 sec ago Normal ENSTAR 3000 Spenard Rd, Anchorage, AK 54.0 °F - 51 °F 88% ESE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 152 ft 53 sec ago Normal KTUU-TV, Anchorage, AK 54.0 °F - 53 °F 97% South at 2.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 115 ft 4 sec ago Rapid Fire Turnagain, Anchorage, AK 51.8 °F - 49 °F 91% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 50 ft 35 sec ago Rapid Fire ENSTAR 401 E. Int'l Airport Rd., Anchorage, AK 54.5 °F - 51 °F 87% NNE at 1.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 131 ft 5 min 11 sec ago Normal Earthquake Park, Anchorage, AK 52.2 °F - 48 °F 85% SSE at 0.0 mph - / hr 62 ft 15 min 32 sec ago Normal Earthquake Park, Anchorage, AK 52.2 °F - 48 °F 85% SSE at 0.0 mph - / hr 62 ft 15 min 32 sec ago Normal IkoWeather @Turpin/E10th, Anchorage, AK 53.6 °F - 50 °F 86% SSE at 0.8 mph 0.00 in / hr 230 ft 3 sec ago Rapid Fire Cheney Lake, Anchorage, AK 53.1 °F - 50 °F 90% SE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 252 ft 46 sec ago Rapid Fire East Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 51.6 °F - 50 °F 94% WSW at 1.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 228 ft 8 min 27 sec ago Normal APRSWXNET East Northern Lights AK , Anchorage, AK 51 °F - 50 °F 95% NW at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 224 ft 24 min 1 sec ago MADIS RAWS CAMPBELL CREEK AK, Anchorage, AK 51 °F - 50 °F 95% East at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 157 ft 22 min 1 sec ago MADIS APRSWXNET Anchorage AK, Anchorage, AK 51 °F - - - WNW at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 257 ft 24 min 1 sec ago MADIS APRSWXNET Anchorage AK , Anchorage, AK 54 °F - 48 °F 81% SSW at 3 mph 0.00 in / hr 295 ft 15 min 1 sec ago MADIS Muldoon, Anchorage, AK 54.2 °F - 49 °F 82% South at 3.3 mph 0.00 in / hr 295 ft 16 sec ago Rapid Fire Southeast Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 53.4 °F - 50 °F 90% West at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 250 ft 58 sec ago Normal Cherry Perry (Below TotemTheater), Anchorage, AK 53.4 °F - 49 °F 86% SSW at 2.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 340 ft 2 min 44 sec ago Normal Chugach Foothills, Anchorage, AK 52.8 °F - 48 °F 85% WNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 350 ft 17 min 32 sec ago Normal RAWS GRAZELKA RANGE AK, Fort Richardson, AK 50 °F - 49 °F 98% WSW at 1 mph 0.00 in / hr 453 ft 49 min 1 sec ago MADIS Service High School-AWWU, Anchorage, AK 51.5 °F - 48 °F 86% SW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 400 ft 2 min 39 sec ago Normal Bayshore, Anchorage, AK 52.2 °F - 47 °F 82% SW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 67 ft 7 min 55 sec ago Normal Mid Hillside Zoo, Anchorage, AK 52.5 °F - 50 °F 91% South at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 402 ft 39 sec ago Normal Oceanview, Anchorage, AK 51.8 °F - 49 °F 90% ESE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 75 ft 58 sec ago Normal AKDOT Seward Highway @ Huffman Road, Anchorage, AK 47 °F 47 °F 45 °F 93% SE at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 193 ft 58 min 1 sec ago MADIS Tributary Cir, Anchorage, AK 51.7 °F - 46 °F 81% SW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 188 ft 5 sec ago Rapid Fire AKDOT Hillside Road @ Upper Huffman Road, Anchorage, AK 51 °F - 47 °F 88% SE at 2 mph 0.00 in / hr 1017 ft 54 min 1 sec ago MADIS Goldenview, Anchorage, AK 51.7 °F - 48 °F 87% West at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 710 ft 30 sec ago Normal Upper Hillside, Anchorage, AK 49.5 °F 50 °F - - South at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 1354 ft 18 min 1 sec ago Normal APRSWXNET Anchorage AK , Anchorage, AK 50 °F - - - SSW at 2 mph 0.00 in / hr 1377 ft 21 min 1 sec ago MADIS Upper DeArmoun Rd., Anchorage, AK 50.1 °F - 47 °F 88% NNE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 1275 ft 2 min 57 sec ago Normal Upper Stroganof Drive, Anchorage, AK 49.6 °F 50 °F 46 °F 88% WSW at 2.0 mph - / hr 1560 ft 1 min 23 sec ago Normal RAWS RABBIT CREEK AK, Anchorage, AK 50 °F - 44 °F 81% South at 2 mph 0.00 in / hr 1479 ft 22 min 1 sec ago MADIS APRSWXNET Anchorage AK, Anchorage, AK 49 °F 49 °F 45 °F 86% South at 1 mph 0.00 in / hr 2194 ft 40 min 1 sec ago MADIS Airport Heights, Anchorage, AK 52.0 °F - 48 °F 85% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr -10000 ft 2 sec ago Rapid Fire South Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 50.9 °F - 50 °F 97% WNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr -10000 ft 3 sec ago Rapid Fire South Hillside, Anchorage, AK 50.7 °F - 46 °F 83% ENE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr -10000 ft 1 sec ago Rapid Fire
Honolulu
Honolulu Weather at a Glance Weather Station Honolulu (PHNL) Elevation 10 ft Station Select Now Partly Cloudy Temperature 77 °F Feels Like 77 °F Wind(mph) 16 Sunrise / Set 6:01 AM 7:13 PM Weather Stations Station Location Temp. Heat Index Dew Point Humidity Wind Precipitation Elevation Updated Type Website Manoa-Woodlawn, Honolulu, HI 73.2 °F 77 °F 58 °F 59% NE at 3.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 460 ft 4 sec ago Rapid Fire NOS_NWLON Honolulu Harbor, HI, Honolulu, HI 76 °F 74 °F - - ENE at 8 mph 0.00 in / hr 0 ft 32 min 25 sec ago MADIS Kaneohe, Kaneohe, HI 75.2 °F 76 °F 68 °F 77% ESE at 3.4 mph 0.00 in / hr 164 ft 6 sec ago Rapid Fire Hawaii Loa Ridge, Honolulu, HI 71.7 °F 72 °F 66 °F 82% ENE at 12.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 750 ft 20 sec ago Normal Kaelepulu Wetland, Kailua, HI 75.6 °F 77 °F 69 °F 79% ENE at 3.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 12 ft 5 min 34 sec ago Normal Enchanted Lake, Kailua, HI 75.6 °F 77 °F 68 °F 77% ENE at 3.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 21 ft 1 sec ago Rapid Fire Kailua Beach Boatramp, Kailua, HI 76.3 °F 78 °F 67 °F 72% ENE at 1.1 mph 0.00 in / hr 36 ft 10 min 20 sec ago Rapid Fire APRSWXNET Honolulu HI, Honolulu, HI 73 °F 74 °F 66 °F 78% NE at 9 mph 0.00 in / hr 430 ft 20 min 25 sec ago MADIS RAWS WAIAWA PHB HI, Pearl City, HI 75 °F 77 °F 63 °F 66% ENE at 6 mph 0.00 in / hr 4 ft 39 min 25 sec ago MADIS RAWS HONOULIULI PHB HI, Ewa Beach, HI 76 °F 78 °F 64 °F 67% ENE at 8 mph 0.00 in / hr 4 ft 39 min 25 sec ago MADIS Kapolei, Makakilo, HI 74.3 °F 77 °F 59 °F 60% NW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 350 ft 18 sec ago Rapid Fire MesoWest Wheeler AFB: O`ahu , Wheeler Army Airfield, HI - - - - NE at 1 mph 0.00 in / hr 867 ft 1 hr 41 min 25 sec ago MADIS Upper Makakilo, Makakilo City, HI 70.3 °F 71 °F 64 °F 80% NNE at 6.9 mph 0.00 in / hr 1060 ft 5 sec ago Rapid Fire Schofield Barracks, Wahiawa, HI 71.1 °F 76 °F 57 °F 61% NE at 6.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 899 ft 28 sec ago Rapid Fire RAWS SCHOFIELD BARRACKS HI, Schofield, HI 65 °F - 65 °F 100% WSW at 2 mph 0.00 in / hr 979 ft 23 min 25 sec ago MADIS RAWS SCHOFIELDSOUTHRANGE HI, Schofield, HI 65 °F - -30 °F - NNE at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 1488 ft 29 min 25 sec ago MADIS RAWS WAIANAE VALLEY HI, Waianae, HI 71 °F 74 °F 60 °F 69% West at 6 mph 0.00 in / hr 957 ft 43 min 25 sec ago MADIS RAWS OAHU FOREST NWR HI, Kaaawa, HI 64 °F - 63 °F 98% NE at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 2292 ft 44 min 25 sec ago MADIS RAWS PALEHUA HI, Kapolei, HI 77 °F 79 °F 66 °F 68% NNE at 7 mph 0.00 in / hr 2370 ft 44 min 25 sec ago MADIS
Sacramento
Sacramento, CA 2:31 AM PDT on July 25, 2012 (GMT -0700) Elev: 49 ft Lon: 121.5° W Lat: 38.6° N Source Rapid Fire Updates™ Updated 18 min 17 sec ago Tropical Weather: Invest 98l (North Atlantic) Invest 90e (East Pacific) Weather Summary Jessica Parker Weather Underground Forecast for Wednesday, July 25, 2012. A low pressure system over the Northern Plains is expected to move eastward Wednesday and Thursday and become the main weather producer for the nation. Showers and thunderstorms will continue from the Northern and Central Plains to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. In particular, a slight risk of severe thunderstorms is expected from the Upper Mississippi and Mid-Missouri valleys across the Great Lakes, with the main threat of hail and damaging winds. Apart from this system, a frontal boundary will remain over the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Tennessee Valley and Southeast. Showers and thunderstorms are anticipated with this system. Elsewhere, unsettled weather will persist over portions of the Gulf States. Expect showers and thunderstorms to become more widespread in the afternoon and evening especially over the coastal region. In addition, monsoonal flow will keep scattered showers and thunderstorms going over the Four Corners region. Farther north, a weak front in the northern Intermountain West may trigger a few showers and thunderstorms. Another hot day is in store for portions of the Central Plains, Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley Wednesday and Thursday. Afternoon temperatures are expected in the 100s with possible heat indicies 105 to 110. Moreover, minimum nighttime temperatures will only fall into the mid-70s. Continue Reading… Weather Underground Broadcast Network Sacramento Weather at a Glance Weather Station Sacramento / Mc Clellan (KMCC) Elevation 79 ft Station Select Now Clear Temperature 64 °F Feels Like 64 °F Wind(mph) 9 Sunrise / Set 6:02 AM 8:22 PM Weather Stations Station Location Temp. Dew Point Humidity Wind Precipitation Elevation Updated Type Website MesoWest SACRAMENTO POST OFFICE , Sacramento, CA 65 °F - - North at - 0.00 in / hr 25 ft 43 min 42 sec ago MADIS Midtown, Sacramento, CA 62.0 °F 51 °F 67% SE at 0.0 mph - / hr 21 ft 1 min 1 sec ago Normal 24th and K, Sacramento, CA 64.2 °F 53 °F 66% SW at 1.6 mph 0.00 in / hr 22 ft 1 sec ago Rapid Fire HADS GIBSON NEAR CASTELLA 10SSW CA, Sacramento, CA 61 °F - - North at - 0.00 in / hr 20 ft 1 hr 33 min 42 sec ago MADIS 37th between J and M, Sacramento, CA 65.9 °F 49 °F 55% South at 0.7 mph 0.00 in / hr 33 ft 8 sec ago Rapid Fire Elmhurst - 50th St at HWY 50, Sacramento, CA 62.1 °F 50 °F 65% NNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 33 ft 3 sec ago Rapid Fire Natomas, Sacramento, CA 63.9 °F 52 °F 64% SSW at 0.7 mph 0.00 in / hr 13 ft 4 sec ago Rapid Fire MesoWest Sacramento-Goldenland Court , Sacramento, CA 64 °F 50 °F 60% SSE at 4 mph 0.00 in / hr 13 ft 1 hr 33 min 42 sec ago MADIS Arden/Arcade, Sacramento, CA 63.3 °F 54 °F 71% ESE at 1.4 mph - / hr 20 ft 57 min 35 sec ago Normal APRSWXNET Sacramento CA, Sacramento, CA 62.0 °F 52 °F 69% ESE at 1.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 42 ft 19 sec ago MADIS So Land Park, Sacramento, CA 65.3 °F 46 °F 50% SE at 4.6 mph 0.00 in / hr 24 ft 17 sec ago Rapid Fire Natomas Park, CA, Sacramento, CA 64.0 °F 50 °F 61% SE at 5.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 40 ft 2 sec ago Rapid Fire APRSWXNET Sacramento CA , Sacramento, CA 62 °F 49 °F 63% East at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 65 ft 29 min 42 sec ago MADIS Pocket, Sacramento, CA 59.0 °F 52 °F 77% SSE at 2.7 mph - / hr 10 ft 9 min 15 sec ago Normal MesoWest Sacramento-Del Paso Manor , Sacramento, CA 64 °F 54 °F 70% SE at 2 mph 0.00 in / hr 125 ft 1 hr 33 min 42 sec ago MADIS Rosemont 2, Sacramento, CA 60.4 °F 50 °F 69% SE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 53 ft 3 sec ago Normal Maddox Park/Carmichael, Carmichael, CA 61.2 °F 37 °F 40% ESE at 2.7 mph 0.00 in / hr 98 ft 32 sec ago Normal APRSWXNET Carmichael CA , Sacramento, CA 63 °F 52 °F 68% SE at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 55 ft 40 min 42 sec ago MADIS MesoWest BRANCH CENTER , Sacramento, CA 64 °F - - North at - 0.00 in / hr 75 ft 3 hr 58 min 42 sec ago MADIS MesoWest Bombay , Elverta, CA 60 °F - - North at - 0.00 in / hr 29 ft 53 min 42 sec ago MADIS Foothill Farms, CA, Sacramento 66.2 °F 52 °F 60% ESE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 117 ft 26 sec ago Normal Carmichael Colony Neighborhood Assoc., Carmichael, CA 59.7 °F 49 °F 68% SE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 140 ft 8 sec ago Rapid Fire MesoWest SACRAMENTO METRO AIRPORT , Sacramento, CA 63 °F - - North at - 0.00 in / hr 20 ft 1 hr 23 min 42 sec ago MADIS Arcade Ck. Park, Carmichael, CA 63.6 °F 52 °F 65% WSW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 95 ft 14 sec ago Rapid Fire Ruama Station - Dartford/Jacinto, Sacramento, CA 63.2 °F 50 °F 63% SE at 1.8 mph 0.00 in / hr 25 ft 4 sec ago Rapid Fire Antelope Run, Antelope, CA 65.5 °F 51 °F 60% ESE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 69 ft 2 sec ago Rapid Fire Near Riverview School, Rancho Cordova, CA 64.9 °F 48 °F 54% East at 1.6 mph 0.00 in / hr 93 ft 51 sec ago Rapid Fire APRSWXNET El Macero CA , El Macero, CA 58 °F 51 °F 78% South at 2 mph 0.00 in / hr 59 ft 39 min 42 sec ago MADIS Laguna Blvd near Franklin Blvd, Elk Grove, CA 60.4 °F 42 °F 51% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 30 ft 19 sec ago Rapid Fire MAP FINCH FARMS (P268), CA , El Macero, CA 59 °F 50 °F 71% West at 4 mph 0.00 in / hr 22 ft 33 min 42 sec ago MADIS Firestone, Antelope, CA, Antelope, CA 65.5 °F 51 °F 59% East at 3.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 155 ft 3 min 11 sec ago Normal APRSWXNET Elk Grove CA , Elk Grove, CA 61 °F 53 °F 76% SSW at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 167 ft 39 min 42 sec ago MADIS
Washington DC
Washington, DC 5:28 AM EDT on July 25, 2012 (GMT -0400) Elev: 75 ft Lon: 77.0° W Lat: 38.9° N Source Rapid Fire Updates™ Updated 4:52 AM EDT Tropical Weather: Invest 98l (North Atlantic) Invest 90e (East Pacific) Weather Underground Broadcast Network Washington Weather at a Glance Weather Station Washington (KDCA) Elevation 13 ft Station Select Now Clear Temperature 74 °F Feels Like 74 °F Wind(mph) 9 Sunrise / Set 6:03 AM 8:25 PM Weather Stations Station Location Temp. Heat Index Dew Point Humidity Wind Precipitation Elevation Updated Type Website Eckington Pl, NE, Washington, DC 74.2 °F 76 °F 62 °F 66% North at 4.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 90 ft 5:28 AM EDT Normal NoMa - H Street Corridor, Washington, DC 73.6 °F 76 °F 61 °F 65% NNW at 2.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 56 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire DCNet DC Municipal Building Washington D, Washington, DC 73 °F 76 °F 59 °F 62% NNW at 6 mph 0.00 in / hr 304 ft 5:00 AM EDT MADIS DCNet Hoover Building Washington DC, Washington, DC 76 °F 78 °F 60 °F 57% NE at 9 mph 0.00 in / hr 231 ft 5:00 AM EDT MADIS SW Washington, Washington, DC 75.3 °F 77 °F 63 °F 65% NNE at 3.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 22 ft 5:18 AM EDT Normal NOS_PORTS Washington, DC, Washington, DC - - - - NNE at 5 mph 0.00 in / hr 0 ft 4:54 AM EDT MADIS VADOT Rt_66_@_Rosslyn, Arlington, VA 75 °F 77 °F 59 °F 58% East at 1 mph 0.00 in / hr 132 ft 4:41 AM EDT MADIS Takoma, DC, Washington, DC 70.0 °F - 64 °F 82% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 310 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire Palisades, Washington, DC 68.2 °F - 46 °F 45% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 211 ft 5:23 AM EDT Normal Cherrydale, Arlington, VA 71.3 °F 72 °F 65 °F 80% NNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 265 ft 5:25 AM EDT Normal Ashton Heights, Arlington, VA 73.2 °F 73 °F 68 °F 83% North at 0.7 mph 0.00 in / hr 302 ft 5:15 AM EDT Normal Glaizewood Manor, Takoma Park, MD 67.6 °F - 64 °F 87% West at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 175 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire Ashton Heights, Arlington, VA 72.4 °F 75 °F 62 °F 70% SW at 1.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 258 ft 5:00 AM EDT Normal Brookdale, Bethesda, MD 67.0 °F - 60 °F 79% WNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 262 ft 5:25 AM EDT Normal Riverdale Park, Riverdale, MD 71.4 °F 74 °F 62 °F 72% North at 1.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 122 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire Somerset, Chevy Chase, MD 68.1 °F - 62 °F 82% NE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 330 ft 5:25 AM EDT Normal Douglas Park, Arlington, VA 71.0 °F 73 °F 62 °F 73% WNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 183 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire APRSWXNET Douglas Park VA , Arlington, VA 72 °F 74 °F 62 °F 72% NW at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 183 ft 4:58 AM EDT MADIS Alexandria, VA, Alexandria, VA 73.1 °F 76 °F 62 °F 67% SSW at 0.2 mph 0.00 in / hr 174 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire Del Ray, Alexandria, VA 73.7 °F 75 °F 64 °F 72% WNW at 0.0 mph - / hr 24 ft 5:28 AM EDT Normal Barcroft Neighborhood, Arlington, VA 68.9 °F - 63 °F 82% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 200 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire DCNet Naval Research Laboratory Washingt, Washington, DC 75 °F 78 °F 58 °F 55% North at 6 mph 0.00 in / hr 119 ft 5:00 AM EDT MADIS Old Town North, Alexandria, VA 73.7 °F 76 °F 62 °F 67% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 18 ft 5:26 AM EDT Normal Del Ray -- Mason Ave, Alexandria, VA 72.9 °F 75 °F 62 °F 68% NE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 46 ft 5:25 AM EDT Normal APRSWXNET Silver Spring MD , Silver Spring, MD 67 °F - 63 °F 88% SSE at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 347 ft 4:57 AM EDT MADIS Arlington, VA 69.1 °F - 62 °F 77% NW at 1.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 300 ft 5:22 AM EDT Normal Rosemont - Braddock Heights, Alexandria, VA 72.5 °F 73 °F 65 °F 77% NNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 33 ft 5:22 AM EDT Rapid Fire Rosemont Park, Alexandria, VA 73.6 °F 76 °F 62 °F 67% SW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 26 ft 5:13 AM EDT Normal Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA 73.0 °F 76 °F 59 °F 62% North at 1.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 290 ft 5:25 AM EDT Normal MDDOT I-495 @ Connecticut Ave, Bethesda, MD 71 °F 72 °F 64 °F 79% West at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 230 ft 5:11 AM EDT MADIS Greenwich Forest, Bethesda, MD 66.6 °F - 63 °F 89% West at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 338 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire Seminary Ridge - St Stephens & St. Agnes, Alexandria, VA 73.0 °F 74 °F 66 °F 78% WNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 268 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire Colonial Heights, Alexandria, VA 73.2 °F 75 °F 62 °F 69% NNW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 140 ft 5:28 AM EDT Rapid Fire Camp Springs, MD, Camp Springs, MD 72.5 °F 73 °F 65 °F 78% NNE at 3.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 282 ft 5:00 AM EDT Normal APRSWXNET McLean VA , McLean, VA 68 °F - 65 °F 90% NNE at 0 mph 0.00 in / hr 265 ft 5:03 AM EDT MADIS
Musings from the Chiefio 
On Wunderground you can click on a “select station’ button up near the top when looking at any particular station and it will make a map with the first 10 choices on it. They look to me like they are the same stations as in the list lower down of ‘nearby’ stations.
There is a toggle near the bottom of the map that lets you display the next 10, and the next…
Inspection of those maps looks like Wunderground does a ‘sort of a spiral out’ method.
That, then, explains the general downslope to the trend lines…
The further you get from the large airport and all the urban growth that is nearby, the cooler your general temperatures become.
By selecting GHCN stations from mostly Airports, NCDC build in a large warming bias compared to the nearby stations, and more or less linear with distance (with some spread). The “outlier” stations are due to cities and land forms not being uniform (and by the time you are in the third 10 you can be looking at much different topology and elevation. (But even then, that says the airports are in hotter locations that the other instruments. Locations that were not always concrete and asphalt…)
At any rate, one small mystery solved… It also says that picking airports in the midwest and other planes areas can give a nice topology (i.e. altitude) neutral Airport Heat Island metric… At least as long as there is someone nearby with thermometers…
Another mystery solved. Cats love to nap on large rocks, even if they are well buried and not tall. Cats have a body temperature of 101.5F and love warmth. Large rocks are excellent solar energy collectors, with large heat storage as well. The cats know!
Out in fields, large rocks melt the snow off of themselves before the ground clears.
Well paved air fields are a solar energy collection engines as the paving is very thick, feet thick at times, and the sub material is rock & gravel and very compacted soils. pg
Anyway in december they will be cooler, for sure :-)
@P.G. Sharrow:
Perhaps that’s it… the Warmistas are all cat lovers and place thermometers where cats will like them ;-)
@Adolfo:
Don’t count on it… Don’t have the graphs made yet, but grabbed some data from Australia… It’s winter down there now…
Perth is a short list, so you can “eyeball” it pretty easy. Perth-Morley is hotter than the airport, but everything else is cooler (that first number after each name) and tend to smaller with greater distance…:
Perth Weather at a Glance
Weather Station Perth (YPPH)
Elevation 66 ft
Station Select
Now
Clear
Temperature
64 °F
Feels Like 64 °F
Wind(mph)
7
Sunrise / Set
7:08 AM
5:37 PM
Weather Stations Station Location Temp. Dew Point Humidity Wind Precipitation Elevation Updated Type Website
Perth 63.5 °F 48 °F 56% SW at 0.1 mph 0.00 in / hr 138 ft 0 sec ago Rapid Fire
Morley, Perth 66.4 °F 42 °F 41% South at 2.2 mph 0.00 in / hr 125 ft 9 min 58 sec ago Normal
Beckenham 62.8 °F 50 °F 61% South at 2.2 mph 0.00 in / hr 36 ft 5 sec ago Normal
APRSWXNET Ballajura , Mount Lawley Perth 64.0 °F 42 °F 46% ESE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 124 ft 1 min 31 sec ago MADIS
Ballajura, Ballajura 63.7 °F 42 °F 46% ESE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 120 ft 14 min 17 sec ago Normal
Jane Brook 62.9 °F 47 °F 56% WSW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 0 ft 17 sec ago Rapid Fire
Lynwood, Lynwood 62.1 °F 28 °F 27% North at 2.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 39 ft 6 min 6 sec ago Normal
Osborne Park, Osborne Park 60.4 °F 44 °F 54% WSW at 5.3 mph 0.00 in / hr 66 ft 4 min 54 sec ago Normal
Darlington, Darlington 58.3 °F 46 °F 63% SSW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 623 ft 1 sec ago Rapid Fire
APRSWXNET Wannaroo , Mount Lawley Perth 62.0 °F 22 °F 23% West at 2.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 247 ft 2 min 5 sec ago MADIS
Perth 59.5 °F 46 °F 60% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 0 ft 25 min 0 sec ago Normal
Willetton, Perth 60.3 °F 45 °F 57% SW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 50 ft 10 min 8 sec ago Normal
Maddington 64.0 °F 45 °F 50% SW at 5.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 52 ft 7 min 57 sec ago Normal
Gosnells 62.4 °F 46 °F 55% SW at 2.2 mph 0.00 in / hr 66 ft 9 min 25 sec ago Normal
Willetton, Willetton 60.4 °F 46 °F 60% SW at 3.8 mph 0.00 in / hr 100 ft 9 min 16 sec ago Normal
Willetton, Willetton 60.4 °F 46 °F 59% SW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 150 ft 7 min 12 sec ago Normal
Huntingdale 61.7 °F 48 °F 60% South at 1.6 mph 0.00 in / hr 0 ft 4 min 27 sec ago Normal
Karrinyup, Karrinyup 61.3 °F 37 °F 41% SW at 2.9 mph 0.00 in / hr 197 ft 3 sec ago Rapid Fire
Ellenbrook, ELLENBROOK 62.9 °F 42 °F 46% SSE at 2.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 184 ft 4 min 17 sec ago Normal
Greenwood, Perth 59.7 °F 41 °F 51% SSE at 2.5 mph 0.00 in / hr 52 ft 0 sec ago Rapid Fire
Perth Hills, MUNDARING 54.0 °F 44 °F 69% ENE at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 968 ft 32 sec ago Rapid Fire
Wanneroo, Wanneroo 60.3 °F 42 °F 52% SSW at 0.7 mph 0.00 in / hr 217 ft 5 sec ago Rapid Fire
Wanneroo, Wanneroo 60.1 °F 41 °F 49% SSW at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 90 ft 54 sec ago Normal
Wanneroo East, Wanneroo 59.7 °F 44 °F 58% North at 0.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 256 ft 1 sec ago Rapid Fire
By the Indian Ocean, Spearwood 60.8 °F 32 °F 34% South at 4.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 50 ft 4 min 31 sec ago Normal
Kinross, Kinross 60.3 °F 44 °F 56% South at 5.0 mph 0.00 in / hr 125 ft 5 sec ago Rapid Fire
KWINANA, WELLARD 63.9 °F 43 °F 46% SW at 0.7 mph 0.00 in / hr 108 ft 4 min 59 sec ago Normal
EMSmith says;”Perhaps that’s it… the Warmistas are all cat lovers”
I doubt that, Warmistas hate warmth and wish it cold.
I am a lion …er Leo and a farmer. I hate cold and love heat. More heat and CO2 the better for plants and me 8-) Too bad that a mini Ice Age is on its’ way. pg
p.g.sharrow says: @ 27 July 2012 at 2:05 pm
…Large rocks are excellent solar energy collectors, with large heat storage as well. The cats know!
Out in fields, large rocks melt the snow off of themselves before the ground clears….
_________________________________
Anyone who has had to shovel a driveway up north and is a bit lazy knows the simplest way to get it clear down to the pavement is to clear off most of the snow and then dig to bare pavement in a few patches and the sun will do the rest of the clearing for you.
G. Combs says that if you live in snow country and are lazy, you need to get the work done with out killing yourself doing ALL the work. Being a lazy man that has lived out in snow country for many years, getting roads and trails cleared with the least effort is most important. Getting the best help from the weak winter sun is part of the challenge. 8-) pg
E.M.
Not airports direct but seen this?
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/a-tale-of-two-countries-the-richard-muller-gigo-story/
Another airport heating eureka moment
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/another-eureka-moment/
RE….“in Hawaii, temperatures don’t change much“…..
Two years ago I compared the two Honolulu stations: Observatory (Obs Oahu) vs Air Port: here http://www.what-is-climate.com/Archiv/sept_10.html. The deviation at Obs Oahu might have been due to a broken sensor, but might have got some input due to the special location very close to the biggest naval port ever in the mid 1940s, as the station is:
___which is close to the entrance of Pearl Harbour,
___is very close to a sea area, where presumably enormous naval activities during and after WWII took place, that can have changed the ‘sea-surface structure’ in more than one way, e.g. the sea of Obs is fairly deep, with much colder water just below the sea surface, or: the day time warming of the sea surface was quickly replace by colder (not sun warmed) water.
___the extraordinary drop from 1945 to 1949, coincides with size of the US Navy at Honolulu.
___It would be too easy to assume a malfunction of the measurements, although not totally impossible, but that would objectively mean that the people running the Obs must have been completely ignorant and incompetent not to recognising it.
___If Obs temperature have been taken correctly (and that seems to be the case as the station was presumably never moved, but only the institutions running Obs changed a few times), and also the airport measurements, than it should be possible to identify a reason for the difference,
___which would be particularly helpful in the climatic change debate, and even more, if naval activities caused the air temperature to drop dramatically „Honolulu Obs Oahu“ from 1945 to 1949.
The reasoning had been also once a comment at: http://climateaudit.org/2010/09/01/icoads-hawaii/#comment-240663
E.M.
You seem to have started something here with Steven Goddard ( http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/another-eureka-moment/ )
and Anthony Watts (http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/29/press-release-2/ ) doing similar things and coming to very similar conclusions.
It looks like even the raw data from a lot of urban and airports sites is suspect.
When the BEST group came out with their first report and Muller said that UHI was not a problem because they adjusted cool stations up to match the warm stations. My opinion became, this was no longer possible poor book keeping, this was deliberately cooking the books. As they are all doing the same thing, conspiracy. The Watts et al. paper is further proof. The EM Smith evaluations point to the same thing. The Official Data records are being adjusted to match the story line of AGW because GOD is not cooperating with their computer models. pg
Just because there are ‘scientists’ in NOAA doesn’t mean they (aka ‘We’) have the cream of the crop, nor that they (‘We’) have those with the highest integrity. Goberment ‘scientists’ are as suseptable to pressure as everything and everyone else in the Universe is. One rotten apple will spoil the bunch, and a bunch of rotten apples will spoil a heck of a lot more than apples.
@P.G. Sharrow:
Lucky for you that an Ice Age has gradual onset over thousands of years. Plenty of time to chop more wood and / or move to Mexico ;-)
@G. Combs:
Interesting point… NOT living where it snows, I only get to see such things when visiting ‘snow country’. I remember seeing such patches of melt spreading, but hadn’t made the connection to ‘climate stuff’ now… Thanks for making the connection.
@Another Ian:
No, I’d missed that. Thanks for pointing it out. That is one powerful direct comparison of two data sets that are SUPPOSED to be the same quality… showing completely different things…
It deserves a lot more coverage…
@ArndB:
An interesting conundrum… I don’t have much to add in the way of clarity.
About all I can do is point out some “issues”. Change from buckets to engine intake. (And a potential change of depth of water measured). Airport data being biased high. Potential for deep draft ships to stir cold water to near the surface (as all those carriers and battle ships headed home). And the potential for ‘regime change’ in ocean currents in the mid Pacific.
In other words, it’s a mess.
But an interesting on, especially that Pearl Harbor ‘glitch’ down…
@Tckev:
Suspect? I don’t think it is “suspect”, I think it is clearly broken. ANY data from an airport or from an urban jungle is measuring the thermal mass of concrete, tarmac, and cars and the heat dump of megaWatts of electricity and tons of fossil fuel burn.
As to me starting it: Maybe. I did do some Airport postings a couple of years back and they have had time to spread ideas. Then again, those two are bright folks and already knew that thermometer site issues mattered, so would have thought of it on their own anyway. Personally, I think of us all as just “fellow travelers” looking out the window and seeing the same things. If one says “Hey, look at the airport!”, the others were likely already noticing it anyway. (But I can still feel good about having pointed at it early ;-)
@P.G.:
I got that feeling back when I first looked at GIStemp UHI adjustment and found it often going the wrong way… (though it is an automated error…)
@Pascvaks:
I suspect it is even worse than that. We have folks with a clear bias and political agenda in charge of the hiring… Hansen has testified that it is OK to break the law if you believe you are doing it for a ‘greater good’ (and the nutty UK courts bought that… setting a precedent…) and has gotten himself arrested in showing off his Green Credentials. Others in the AGW movement are just as rabid.
It is a cultural bias that will pervade their organizations.
So it isn’t just ANY ‘rotten apple’, it tends to be the top dogs that are the ‘rotten apples’; and they will have strong and direct influence on the entirety of what forms below them.
Even if just indirectly. Were I a low level researcher on their staff, I’d have a keen sense of what they will ‘sign off’ and what they will dump. I’d not even bother bringing to the budget table a request to show their life work was bogus… or even trivially needing ‘enhancement’. I’d bring what I knew would get funding. (And just hope I could find a way to stay honest and moral while “sucking up” to the feeding trough… And I’m one of the folks “most likely to annoy the boss with the truth” that you will ever find.)