What's With Accuweather's Temp Readings?

[Chris-PA]

Yeah, it's cold, but how cold is it really? I often use Accuweather, and they are consistently showing temperatures for my area that are up to 10 degrees lower than what I measure. They say it's 9 right now, but I measure 19.

I have one of those remote temp sensors that transmit the numbers to a receiver in the house. The transmitter is located under the roof of a fake wishing well in the yard, away from the house and heat sources. I have other old glass bulb thermometers that have always agreed with it, so I believe it is correct. I've noticed it regularly, including the other night when they said it was -2, but I saw 9.

I have no idea how they get those measurements, and I'm wondering if others have seen this too?

 

[fuzz1500]

I have no idea how they do it..but I have noticed the same .

 

[stihly dan]

I find they are 5 warmer in the winter 5 cooler in the summer. I love those remote stats, I have one outside, 2 inside for different floors.

 

[John R]

Be happy, it seems to go the other way at my house, we're always 5 to 7 degrees cooler that the weather man says it is.

 

[flotek]

My iPhone weather app always shows it 5 or so degrees warmer than it is in my township for some reason . I have several thermometers and my vehicles too. .. It's always actually colder here than they say. . I think they take averages around the area in bigger cities and make a estimated calculation because if they truly had a local representative taking actual readings it would be far more accurate

 

[peakbagger]

I expect its local microclimates. Many of the official weather stations in my area are at airports and they tend to be in valleys. In winter on clear nights with snow on the ground there is a lot of radiation cooling. Heat rises and cold air sinks into the valleys. If there is no wind, My house at 1400 on foothills of a mountain can be 8 to 9 degrees warmer than the local official temperatures. I also believe that some weather aps average temperature values between stations and if there a particularly cold or warm station it can throw off the average. My house happens to be near the Top of mount Washington where there is a official recording station at 6600 feet. On occasion over the years various aps have supplied me the local temp as being the same as the top of Mt Washington, this can happen in temperature inversions but normally its just a bad bit of code making a wrong assumption.

The other issue is that very few home weather stations are mounted appropriately and can be off due to local conditions. My sensor is mounted on a wall in the shade but at certain times of the year it gets in the sun and the readings can be 20 degrees higher than the actual outdoor temp.

 

[NSMaple1]

From checking Accuweather here once in a while - their presentation appears to be precise, but it doesn't seem to be highly accurate.

 

[Whitespider]

I don't use Accuweather, I use WonderGround... both are showing -2° for Charles City right now. Both websites use the temperature reading from the airport located about 5 miles east of town, some distance away from the river. I live 6 miles south of town right on the river (withing a few hundred yards) and my readings almost never agree. I have multiple thermometers, of all sorts, mounted in different types of locations... and they always read the same within 1° variance at the most. They all say +2° this morning... four degrees warmer than the official.

But it can go either way... sometimes I'm as much as 10° warmer or colder, sometimes I'm dead-nutz. The "official" thermometer is quite a bit higher in elevation than me, and a lot farther from the river than me... and that can make a ton of difference. Do you ride motorcycle?? Just slight changes in elevation as you ride can make a huge difference in temperature... especially from dusk to dawn, but at anytime really. Other things can make a difference... ever notice how much warmer it feels in the woods during winter?? Even on a perfectly calm day?? That's because woody plants have thermal properties, they store heat... I've seen as much as 15° difference between my open yard and the center of my woodlot.

My guess is the location is the cause of your difference... where is the "official" thermometer located in relationship to you?? It's probably because your just in a consistently warmer "spot"... for whatever the reason. For me, located by the wooded river (water is a heat sink also), it can go either way depending on the day, or even depending on the conditions of the day before... year 'round.
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[TreeTangler]

I find Weather Underground to be much more reliable and fun to use.

 

[TreeTangler]

Spidey beat me by 1 second lol.

 

[Whitespider]

I just re-checked.
The "official" temperature is now 0°, and my readings are at 1°... so as the airport is warming up, I'm actually cooling off.
Even the warming/cooling "trends" can be different just a few miles away from each other.
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[philoshop]

I'll give another nod to Weather Underground. There's a farm with a home weather station just a couple miles from my house that transmits to the web site.
The wind speed/direction indicators are also pretty handy, especially during deer hunting season.

 

[Chris-PA]

Thanks for the feedback - by chance Accuweather is spot on to what my thermometer reads this morning. I really don't know where their station is, but probably at the Lehigh Valley "International" airport (talk about delusions of grandeur). That's over a pretty big hill from here and some miles away.

I have used Weather Underground for years, but mostly for storm prediction and the WunderMap radar. I'll have to start watching their temperature forecasts - I just have a nice Accuweather toolbar on Firefox.

 

[513yj]

Yesterday weather.com said -10 for tonight and this morning it says -3. They are always changing in this type of weather pattern where no one knows.

 

[jrider]

On a calm clear morning, there can be a 5 degree difference from your waist to your feet. Micro/Nano climates can cause huge temperature differences over small areas. Ever been in or around cranberry bogs? They can be 15 -20 degrees cooler than a place just a few miles away.

 

[philoshop]

No cranberry bogs, but I used to hunt in a peat bog. There could be a 10* difference between the ground and the tree stand. Learned that the hard way!

 

[reaperman]

With weather underground's personal weather stations its easier find accurate temps closer to your home. Plus on the bottom of their webpage, it lists all surrounding stations and temps. Its here, you will find how temps differ in the same general area.

 

[theswampthing]

Thanks for the feedback - by chance Accuweather is spot on to what my thermometer reads this morning. I really don't know where their station is, but probably at the Lehigh Valley "International" airport (talk about delusions of grandeur). That's over a pretty big hill from here and some miles away.

I have used Weather Underground for years, but mostly for storm prediction and the WunderMap radar. I'll have to start watching their temperature forecasts - I just have a nice Accuweather toolbar on Firefox.

I use Wunderground, too. Don't know if you're north or south of LVA, but if you're north of the Blue like me,we're in a different climate zone. The temp really varies even from town to town. Lots of factors in it, but wunderground is always fairly close. I take an average of 2 or 3 towns that are very close. The weather station for your zip code may not be the one you need to pick for your updates.

 

[ray benson]

The Wunderground has a "station select" button which allows you to select one that has readings similar to you. The Wundermap radar is pretty cool.

 

[woodchuck357]

The Wunderground has a "station select" button which allows you to select one that has readings similar to you. The Wundermap radar is pretty cool.

I use wunderground to check the surrounding area but not their radar, local TV stations website radar is much easier to use. We live in the NW corner of Arkansas and for some reason they will only show stations in one state at a time, I can easily see stations 40 miles away in Arkansas but closer ones in MO and OK are only show up by selecting a town it those states.