How's weather at your place?

And it's a record (probably)

According to the Met Office, a temperature of 39.1°C has provisionally been recorded at Charlwood, Surrey (that's near Gatwick Airport, and about 50 miles from here). If confirmed this will be the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK. Temperatures are likely to rise further through today.

So we may yet see 40°C before it cools off a bit tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've just been out in the garden and it's as hot as a camel's underpants out there (unofficial)

-R
 
And it's a record (probably)

According to the Met Office, a temperature of 39.1°C has provisionally been recorded at Charlwood, Surrey (that's near Gatwick Airport, and about 50 miles from here). If confirmed this will be the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK. Temperatures are likely to rise further through today.

So we may yet see 40°C before it cools off a bit tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've just been out in the garden and it's as hot as a camel's underpants out there (unofficial)

-R
That's an interesting unit of measurement there, Richard.
Imperial unit, I assume? ... ;) :rofl:
 
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I find the whole business of how these temperature measurements are made and recorded quite interesting. One of the UK weather presenters was talking about it on the radio yesterday and saying that while the temperatures in cities are clearly higher than those in rural areas (because of black tarmac roads, buildings with air conditioning, traffic etc) city locations are always discounted when it comes to weather records because no two city sites are the same.

To get in the record books the measurement has to be taken in a very uniform way – using one of those white louvered boxes on legs (we had one at my school), which must be located away from buildings and trees and sources of heat. I remember a couple of years ago a record temperature in Scotland was disqualified when it turned out that the guy taking the reading had parked his vehicle too close to the weather station, so great care must be taken for the reading to be valid.

It seems to me that the weather stations in this country are often located at airfields and airports, for practical and historic reasons, but wouldn't their special circumstances skew the readings too? For example, the air around Heathrow must surely be warmed by all the acreage of asphalt at the airport and the surrounding traffic and industry, not to mention what comes out the back of all the aircraft. Our nearest weather station is at RAF Benson, which seems to have its own (cold) microclimate out there on the Aylesbury Plain – it never gets as cold here in the winter as it does at RAF Benson. So I'm not convinced that airports and airfields are representative of the surrounding area either.

Just seen the news about the record temperature of 40.2C at Heathrow. Now there’s a surprise.

-R
 
I find the whole business of how these temperature measurements are made and recorded quite interesting. One of the UK weather presenters was talking about it on the radio yesterday and saying that while the temperatures in cities are clearly higher than those in rural areas (because of black tarmac roads, buildings with air conditioning, traffic etc) city locations are always discounted when it comes to weather records because no two city sites are the same.

To get in the record books the measurement has to be taken in a very uniform way – using one of those white louvered boxes on legs (we had one at my school), which must be located away from buildings and trees and sources of heat. I remember a couple of years ago a record temperature in Scotland was disqualified when it turned out that the guy taking the reading had parked his vehicle too close to the weather station, so great care must be taken for the reading to be valid.

It seems to me that the weather stations in this country are often located at airfields and airports, for practical and historic reasons, but wouldn't their special circumstances skew the readings too? For example, the air around Heathrow must surely be warmed by all the acreage of asphalt at the airport and the surrounding traffic and industry, not to mention what comes out the back of all the aircraft. Our nearest weather station is at RAF Benson, which seems to have its own (cold) microclimate out there on the Aylesbury Plain – it never gets as cold here in the winter as it does at RAF Benson. So I'm not convinced that airports and airfields are representative of the surrounding area either.

Just seen the news about the record temperature of 40.2C at Heathrow. Now there’s a surprise.

-R
Definitely agree. Heathrow is a daft place to take temperature measurements. I know, let's pick a wide, flat piece of land covered in asphalt and concrete with no trees, plus all that heat from planes, and measure there. It's bound to be hotter than anywhere else. I worked there for a month one summer and can testify to that from experience, it just sizzles.
 
Definitely agree. Heathrow is a daft place to take temperature measurements. I know, let's pick a wide, flat piece of land covered in asphalt and concrete with no trees, plus all that heat from planes, and measure there. It's bound to be hotter than anywhere else. I worked there for a month one summer and can testify to that from experience, it just sizzles.
BBC report about Heathrow temp measurements.... Heatwave: Why is Heathrow so hot?
 
'Twas a wonderful and seasonal 92 or so today, humidity was relatively low with the dew point at 67. Currently a nice 77, went for a 2 mile walk to wrap up my 10,000 steps for the day.

I find the whole business of how these temperature measurements are made and recorded quite interesting. One of the UK weather presenters was talking about it on the radio yesterday and saying that while the temperatures in cities are clearly higher than those in rural areas (because of black tarmac roads, buildings with air conditioning, traffic etc) city locations are always discounted when it comes to weather records because no two city sites are the same.

To get in the record books the measurement has to be taken in a very uniform way – using one of those white louvered boxes on legs (we had one at my school), which must be located away from buildings and trees and sources of heat. I remember a couple of years ago a record temperature in Scotland was disqualified when it turned out that the guy taking the reading had parked his vehicle too close to the weather station, so great care must be taken for the reading to be valid.

It seems to me that the weather stations in this country are often located at airfields and airports, for practical and historic reasons, but wouldn't their special circumstances skew the readings too? For example, the air around Heathrow must surely be warmed by all the acreage of asphalt at the airport and the surrounding traffic and industry, not to mention what comes out the back of all the aircraft. Our nearest weather station is at RAF Benson, which seems to have its own (cold) microclimate out there on the Aylesbury Plain – it never gets as cold here in the winter as it does at RAF Benson. So I'm not convinced that airports and airfields are representative of the surrounding area either.

Just seen the news about the record temperature of 40.2C at Heathrow. Now there’s a surprise.

-R
It's pretty much the same way everywhere. A white, ventilated box 5' off the ground and a distance away from structures no less than four times the height of said structures. I built one for my daughter's 4th grade class. Over here they call cities and urban areas 'heat islands'. It will almost always be cooler out in the rural areas. Airports are the typical official record keepers since their data must be accurate.

Temperature sensors​

  • The sensor should be 4 to 6 feet, preferably 5 feet, above the ground.
  • The ground over which the radiation shield is located should be typical of the surrounding area.
  • Do not install the sensor on a steep slope or in a sheltered hollow unless it is typical of the area or unless data from that type of site is desired.
  • The shield should be no closer than four times the height of any obstruction (tree, fence, building, etc.)
  • The sensor should be at least 100 feet from any paved or concrete surface.
 
Airports are the typical official record keepers since their data must be accurate.
That's the official dogma, Tim. However, e.g. the Moorabbin weather station is (now) at Moorabbin airport, right next to the taxiing area, where the light plane exhausts blow over it ...

Also, it has been moved about 6 times in around 70 years, yet the data from each location has been concatenated into one dataset, which is statistically invalid.

Temperature sensors​

  • The sensor should be 4 to 6 feet, preferably 5 feet, above the ground.
  • The ground over which the radiation shield is located should be typical of the surrounding area.
  • Do not install the sensor on a steep slope or in a sheltered hollow unless it is typical of the area or unless data from that type of site is desired.
  • The shield should be no closer than four times the height of any obstruction (tree, fence, building, etc.)
  • The sensor should be at least 100 feet from any paved or concrete surface.
and the grass must be regularly cut to no longer than 2"; and the Stevenson Screen must be maintained properly, and painted every 2 (?) years; etc, etc, etc.

Very few land based weather stations comply, and very few are within 2% of a calibrated portable device. A relatively small percentage are accurate to within 5%.

They are a vexed issue ...
 
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