A garden thermometer displays the Aug. 4, 2010 temperature... more than 130 degrees? Switch a few of the numbers and you'll have the weather service's recorded high for that day, 103 degrees. ZACH GRAY/Tulsa World File
When no thermometer is available to remind you how hot it is (it hit 106 that day), run through a fountain! Sinai Gomez, 2, gets splashed by her aunt, Lorena Lara at 41st and Riverside in Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
There is apparently a town in Michigan called "Hell," the perfect place for a thermometer and the KFC Colonel to announce a temperature-related promotion back in 2008. PRNewsFoto/Kentucky Fried Chicken
When Monday was declared as the first day in the 100s for Tulsa, did it surprise you?
After all, on your commute, didn't those business signs already declare the temperature to be in the 100s? Hasn't that heat index been declaring 100s for at least a week now?
First of all, heat indexes are like wind chills, so those aren't actual temperatures (read more in Jerry's blog entry on apparent temperature
here). Second, your thermometer is probably wrong for a wide variety of reasons provided by Tulsa National Weather Service Data Acquisition Program Manager, Mike Teague.
1- Heat sourcesSure, your thermometer's in the shade, but what about that air conditioning unit blowing out all of that hot air? Roads, houses, buildings and parking lots can cause inaccuracies, even if the most common culprit is the sun, Teague said.
"It needs to be in the shade, or even housed in something ventilated," Teague said.
2- Ground factorYou mean my thermometer half-buried in snow or wet with morning dew is a little bit off? Teague said the coldest air is usually near the ground, so consider raising the thermometer.
"We use a standard of 2 meters, about 6 feet, above the ground," Teague said.
3- ObstructionsIdeally, Teague said thermometers should be at least 100 feet away from buildings for the most accurate readings. Realistically, Teague said the further away from buildings, trees, mountains, anything that obstructs air flow, the more accurate the thermometer.
Most of these same principles apply to rain gauges, Teague said.
So, what does the Tulsa National Weather Service use? An Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at the Tulsa International Airport, which monitors much more than just temperature. Built by a government contractor, ASOS (Teague pronounced it like "A-sauce") serves the dual purpose of providing aviation weather information, as well as weather information for the public.
Here is more background on why ASOS is at the airport. And if you're a bit more mistrusting of your thermometer now, you can get all of your local forecasting information from the weather service
here. --Althea Peterson
