Temperature Measuring Stations from Hell
Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 11:03 am by NealThis is ridiculous.
Many of the Federal Temperature Monitoring Stations used to supply temperature data to scientists studying “climate change” are located in areas that render their data completely useless. Some are located by A/C exhausts, on roofs, on airports in the path of jet blast, and many other crazy locations. These locations violate the government’s own rules on acceptable placement of stations to assure accuracy.
Ah, government.
Fortunately, some smart people are on to the absurdity, as Neal Boortz reports:
Global warming fanatics, you’re going to absolutely LOVE this story First .. here’s a column from Bill Steigerwald of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review [Here’s the article — ed]. Steigerwald writes about Anthony Watts of Chico, California. Watts is a former TV meteorologist. Watts did what Al Gore (or our lovely Belinda, for that matter) never did … he started searching out and looking at some of the 1,221 weather stations that the federal government uses to gather data on temperatures. That data, of course, is then used to tell us of the threat of global warming! Government standards say that these temperature measuring stations should be 100 feet from buildings, not on a hot concrete service, and so forth. Well, it would seem that these regulations aren’t exactly being adhered to.
Believe it or not, Steigerwald and his followers have found temperature measuring stations sitting right next to barrels where trash is burned. Some are sitting directly in front of air conditioning vents. Others are located near the tarmac on parking lots and at airports. Still others are found surrounded by high buildings. Believe it or not, he even found one official temperature measuring station sitting directly behind an airport ramp where it can be routinely subject to jet blast! Just what do you think the locations of these official government temperature measuring stations might mean to all of these temperature measurements that are being used by OwlGore and others to convince us of global warming!
Now for the fun. Pictures! Watts has a website where he’s detailing his findings. The site has been so slammed lately that he has had to go in search of a new server. The address is http://www.surfacestations.org [Note: the site is down until later today, 06/20/2007 — ed.]. Give it a try .. if he still doesn’t have a new server up and running you can get some rather amazing pictures, along with accompanying graphs, on his blog. Here’s your link.
Are you starting to get the feeling that we’re being had here? Sure seems that way. I wonder what the motivation is? One thing for sure, the more leftist you are, the more likely you are to go along with this man-made global warming nonsense. The more anti-capitalist you are, the more likely you are to be worshiping at the altar of the OwlGore. Noodle it out, my friends. Connect some dots when you get the chance.
For some incredible examples, check out Watts’ blog. Here’s just one of the examples in which he documents a temperature measuring station that is next to a tennis court, condos and a trash burning barrel. He includes the historical temperature data showing that, SURPRISE, the temperatures measured by the station JUMPED in the 1980’s when the tennis court and condos were built.
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| It seems the groundskeeper likes to burn the trash and paper he picks up on the grounds, guess where he does it? Honest folks, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. The property management person I spoke with said the tennis court and condos was built in the early 80’s. |
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| Here is the GISS plot, showing the data trends used in NASA’s Model E global Climate computer model. Note the jump and sustained plateau of temperature after 1980. Tennis anyone? |
Unbelievable.
From the article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Few people have ever seen or even heard of these small, simple-but-reliable weather stations, which quietly make up what NOAA calls its United States Historical Climatology Network (USHCN).
But the stations play an important role in detecting and analyzing regional climate change. More ominously, they provide the official baseline historical temperature data that politically motivated global-warming alarmists like James Hansen of NASA plug into their computer climate models to predict various apocalypses.
NOAA says it uses these 1,221 weather stations — which like the ones in Uniontown and New Castle are overseen by local National Weather Service offices and usually tended to by volunteers — because they have been providing reliable temperature data since at least 1900.
But Anthony Watts of Chico, Calif., suspects NOAA temperature readings are not all they’re cracked up to be. As the former TV meteorologist explains on his sophisticated, newly hatched Web site surfacestations.org, he has set out to do what big-time armchair-climate modelers like Hansen and no one else has ever done – physically quality-check each weather station to see if it’s being operated properly.
To assure accuracy, stations (essentially older thermometers in little four-legged wooden sheds or digital thermometers mounted on poles) should be 100 feet from buildings, not placed on hot concrete, etc. But as photos on Watts’ site show, the station in Forest Grove, Ore., stands 10 feet from an air-conditioning exhaust vent. In Roseburg, Ore., it’s on a rooftop near an AC unit. In Tahoe, Calif., it’s next to a drum where trash is burned.
Watts, who says he’s a man of facts and science, isn’t jumping to any rash conclusions based on the 40-some weather stations his volunteers have checked so far. But he said Tuesday that what he’s finding raises doubts about NOAA’s past and current temperature reports.
“I believe we will be able to demonstrate that some of the global warming increase is not from CO2 but from localized changes in the temperature-measurement environment.”