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Pattern Dry July 2024

FallsLake said:
This has been going on for some time. Apparently, a calibration from last year didn't work.

This article was from last year (have to be a Spectrum customer to read it):
spectrumlocalnews.com

Why has the Raleigh-Durham airport been so hot this week?

The high at RDU has been hotter than most of N.C. this week.
spectrumlocalnews.com spectrumlocalnews.com


Copied pasted content:​

​

Why has the Raleigh-Durham airport been so hot this week?​

By Meteorologist Lee Ringer Raleigh
PUBLISHED 3:00 PM ET Sep. 08, 2023


There is no doubt that this first week of September has been hot across North Carolina.
However, most days this week, the official weather reporting site for the Triangle area stuck out like a sore thumb on the statewide temperature map.

What You Need To Know​

  • The high was 102 at the Raleigh-Durham Airport Wednesday and Thursday
  • Most other sites in central North Carolina reported highs in the mid and upper 90s
  • The drier clay soil around RDU has likely been a large factor in the airport thermometer running hotter than other locations this week

The Raleigh-Durham airport's afternoon temperature has been hotter than pretty much anywhere else in North Carolina every day this week.
WxWeb090823rduA

Wednesday and Thursday's high of 102 were the hottest days this year in the Raleigh area.
Compare that to temperatures at the Fayetteville airport, which often is one of the hottest spots in the state.
WxWeb090823rduB

The National Weather Service in Raleigh has confirmed that the temperature sensor at RDU has recently been calibrated, and they are confident that it providing accurate readings. Other nearby thermometers have been just as hot.
In the last four weeks, areas around RDU have seen less than an inch of rain. During the same time, other communities around Raleigh have measured over four inches.
The drier clay soil around the airport has been heating up like a parking lot and is likely a big factor why RDU has been hotter than other weather reporting sites, even in Durham and Raleigh.
Regardless of just how hot your thermometer read this week, this weekend and next week should not be as hot across the state.
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Localized dry clay soil magically around the sensor. Lol k
 
I have a a suspicion GSP hits 100 or more today. That is above the forecast (97) but it was already at 93 as of 11am, and we already saw a noticeable bust yesterday. I think the drying of the area is catching up with us; GSP pretty much has to be in dry/drought conditions to hit the century mark.
 
weather bubba said:
At my house close to the research station for NCSU near Lake Wheeler the high today was 97 degrees. I can not for the life of me see why the National Weather Service accepts the temperature readings at KRDU when they consistently run three to five degrees above nearby stations and are now the warmest in the state on many days.
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You know why. If they used every station that reported there wouldn't be the amount of increase they claim.

This is KATL yesterday:
The temp goes from 93 to 97 in ten minutes, 97 to 93 in five minutes, then stays at 93.
It does this during a certain period during the afternoon, obviously caused by direct sunlight. Its baffling that the professionals at the national weather service believe this. It was obviously 93, possibly 94 through this entire period.

1720193625694.png
This is roughly the same period for my tempest, notice there aren't 3 or 4 degree jumps in five minutes.
1720193941878.png
 
So in 2024 does Raleigh just have a hotter climate than Fayetteville? Day after day, RDU’s high temperatures blow away FAY. At 1pm RDU was 100 while FAY was 96 and GSO 94. Things sure don’t work like they used to.
 
2pm reading…RDU 104, GSO 94, FAY 98….uhhhhh

RDU’s heat index showing to be 117, LOL.

I’m in Greensboro for the holiday weekend and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it felt hotter than 94, though, hah.
 
A rain shower just moved through the GSO area. Sure to cool things off a little, and also turn it into a steam bath.
 
superjames1992 said:
Wow, that is seriously sketchy. Durham at 97 and RDU at 106??? I didn’t know Durham didn’t have UHI effects, too. If anything, Durham may have more UHI than the RDU airport!
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I'm about 15 miles (as a crow flies) north/northeast of the airport. My high so far is 98. We should be much closer with the temperature. The big differences seem to only happen when it's sunny. My temps are much closer when it cloudy, and especially during widespread precipitation events. That article I posted, stated the sensors were over packed clay soils. That would do it.
 
Greg Fishel's response to WRAL met Kat Campbell's Facebook post about RDU hitting 106.

My point is this. The science categorically supports the idea that Man is warming the climate. But bad data is bad data. There isn't a properly sited observation anywhere in Wake County within 5 degrees F of that RDU reading. It's pure and unadulterated trash!
 
Another post from Greg Fishel on Facebook about the readings at RDU.

THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS, AND SOME PEOPLE COMMENTING CLEARLY DO NOT KNOW WHAT PROPER SITING STANDARDS ARE FOR INSTRUMENTATION.

Back in the year 1999 when RDU hit 100°F or higher 12 times, the idea that the RDU temperature reading was suspect was first brought to the public's attention. Steve Harned, the then Meteorologist in Charge at the Raleigh National Weather Service office took it upon himself to do a study, by placing temperature sensors at widely varying locations across the airport grounds. His conclusion was the best description of the issue I have ever heard, and I will share it with you now. He stated that the instrumentation was accurately representing a microclimate that was not representative of where anyone lived. Bingo! The instrumentation itself is fine, but it's sited in a terrible location, dictated by the FAA, who rightly insists on a location near the airport runway for aviation safety purposes. But we know for a fact that the instrumentation is not sited for climate purposes, and that when you can't find a properly sited station within 5°F of the airport reading, you know you have a problem. And please, stop with the car thermometer examples! Are those thermometers 2 meters over a grassy surface properly sheltered from the sun? I don't think so. Nobody likes breaking records more than I do, but let's make sure the records are legit, and this one clearly is not!
 
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