Long-term weather averages change this year
FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITIONS:
Joe Bollinger, in Glen Burnie, asks: “When will we begin to see the revised 20-year temperature averages?” Joe is referring to the National Weather Service’s long-term averages, to which current weather data are compared. They’re actually 30-year averages, adjusted every decade. Currently, the NWS uses data from 1971 through 2000. Sometime this summer, they’ll adjust to the 1981-2010 period. The last update shaved Baltimore’s average snowfall from 20.6 to 18.2 inches. Curious to see how dropping the '70s and adding the '00s will affect temperature and precipitation averages.
(SUN PHOTO: Karl Merton Ferron, Feb. 10, 2010)
Posted by Frank Roylance at 12:01 AM | Permalink
| Comments (3)
Categories: From the Sun's print edition
Categories: From the Sun's print edition
Comments
Frank,
I've lost track of where to find year-to-date summary for local weather. It used to be a link in the Sun Weather.
What's the location?
Thanks,
Bob
FR: You can find it on the Maryland Weather Blog page: http://weblogs.marylandweather.com/ Look on the right-hand side, under "Resources and Sun Coverage." Click on the 6th entry down from the top: "Baltimore Weather Archive." You may have to enter the current date at the top. The thing seems to default to Feb. 8, 2008.
Posted by: Bob | March 6, 2011 12:36 PM
Does that mean that last year's monster snow total will get averaged into the data this summer or will only the snow in 2010 count? Won't that skew the numbers since that was an unusual winter?
FR: All the snow during the 2001-2010 period (including last winter's record snowfall, and the big storm in February 2003) will be added to the averages, and the heavy snow and record cold weather during the 1970s will be dropped. Not clear yet which way all that will "skew" things. Maybe it will reflect changing norms.
Posted by: BD | March 7, 2011 10:33 AM
The 1970's were bereft of snowfall (except for 1979) so I'll bet the snow averages will jump back over 20 inches.
FR: The winter of 77-78 also was very snowy (34.3 inches). There was also some very cold weather in the latter part of the '70s, That may contribute to a warming of the averages when the '70s are dropped, just as dropping the '60s (hot summers) a decade ago contributed to a cooling of the averages..
Posted by: Ket Troxell | March 7, 2011 10:41 AM