Gotta love this, with all the hullabaloo over a possible new world temperature record in Death Valley, a logging town in Washington has pre-empted them.
Hilariously, the reading of 139 degrees F is listed as “suspect” as it should be, but at 133 degrees F in the next reading (just under the Death Valley all time record of 134F) it is listed as “OK”.
See the screencap:
Source: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/getobext.php?wfo=otx&sid=KTLW1&num=72&raw=0
h/t to reader Dave Thompson.
Obviously it is an equipment malfunction. I wonder how many other weather stations will go on the fritz in our upcoming heat wave.
Did I hear the words Hockey Stick or hide the decline?
Enjoy a favorite.
Dew points in the triple digits? Rain forest- and lots of dead, overheated animals.
I am sure those will make it into the monthlies though…
And weighted heavily 😉
In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.
Mark Twain
“Obviously it is an equipment malfunction. I wonder how many other weather stations will go on the fritz in our upcoming heat wave.”
===================================================================
Where I work, over the years, we’ve gone more and more to digital instruments. One thing I’ve noticed is that a digital instrument is subject to “noise”. Oddly enough in this context, ambient temperature can throw the signal sent from an instrument off. So can the proximity of other lines running through the same conduit that carry an electrical current.
Feel free to jump on this comment if you know better, but isn’t it true that the temperature of a conductor affects it’s conductance?
What I don’t know is if higher ambient temperatures effect on a conductor would result in higher or lower recorded temperature.
While it true that temperature affects conductors- high reduces conductivity, it affect semiconductors more and probably affects the critical effect you are mentioning here Inductance resistance (Impedance- resistance to changing current) but it more likely its just bigger varying currents (its hot people use more electricity) induces an electrical current in the signal wire creating the noise.
At least it was a “dry heat” !!
With a dewpoint of 120F, that wouldn’t be a dry heat. I wonder what the heat index translates to?
Great information here on global warming and climate change. With many scientists believing we are headed for a global cooling period it will be interesting to see what happens. Sunspot activity has been relied on experts for centuries. How about global freezing?
Most digital temperature sensors used today use 1-wire, or I2C and send an actual number, not the analog signal, like the SHT11 or TMP100 – the wiring won’t introduce any noise into the measurement. It’s more likely you’ll see siting issues.
I have 3 temperature sensors around the house, and they all read the exact same number, usually, except for certain times of day when the sun heats one more than the others. For that reason I use the lowest number as definitive.
Low batterys also give higher temp reading up 0.4c in some cases ( going by my station any way).
Ok – the temperature rose 80 degrees F in 2 hours from 6:30 am to 8:30 am and the wind switched from SW to NE – 180 degree swing – maybe the exhaust of a logging truck??? I grew up north of the US border, not all that far from Kettle Falls. I used to drive through it regularly as it was the only paved route between cities on the southern Trans-Provincial Highway (the section between Rossland and Christina Lake was basically an upgraded power line access road up to 1962.) Kettle Falls is definitely high desert country surrounded by pine forests and adjacent to the upper reach of Roosevelt Reservoir, but I doubt it could be that hot at that time of day. Maybe the weather station is next to one of those beehive wood waste burners that used to be in Kettle Falls. 😓 Probably located on Log Deck Road.
It should be no surprise that every now and then we hear of some record high some place. If the records go back only 100 to 150 years and there are 365 days in a year, every day represents 1 chance out of 100 to 150 that a record high may be broken. Given that there are 365 days of the year, record highs should be broken on average 2 to 4 times per year.
And just across the border in Grand Forks BC, where it also rained in the morning, the high at around 3 pm was 32 C (about 90 F). Forecast high for next week is 41 C (106 F) Not unusual, I remember days there when the pavement was more like liquid than solid and your shoes would stick to it walking across the street. Forecast high next week for Kettle Falls is 42 C (108 F).
106 = Suspect
117 = Caution
133 = OK
That is “climatology” in a nutshell.
Gunga Din says: “…Oddly enough in this context, ambient temperature can throw the signal sent from an instrument off. So can the proximity of other lines running through the same conduit that carry an electrical current.”
Yes, obviously. Which may explain why all the specifications I’ve seen prohibit running power wiring and instrument wiring in the same conduit. I wonder if the Climate Reference Network stations comply…
This is a different station at Kettle Falls: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/agrimetmap/kflwda.html
Next to the Roosevelt reservoir.
So is KTLW1. The reservoir is to the west but to the east and NE is the Boise Cascade Timber mill. The weather station is located in some trees adjacent to the log sort area. So the wind switched from off the lake to off the log sort area. But I still would bet the reading is erroneous.
Gunga Din says:
June 28, 2013 at 5:16 pm
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It would not suspect the wiring, though a heat related mechanical involvement might be indicated. The problem is more probably that the instrument was improperly/never calibrated for anything over 50 C. Modern instrumentation uses calibration curves in order to compensate for such things as instrument temperature. BTW, this is my field of expertise that actually pays my bills. I have designed calibration procedures and written the software that automates them. One of the areas I worked in was environmental testing.
I might get around to finding out what the measurement system used at the site is and what the calibration process is.
Kettle Falls can have some weird weather. My grandmother was in the mountains when it snowed on the 4th of July. I doubt it was 139 there though.
My wife texted me today as her Toyota said, 111 in Escondido, CA. I asked here if she had been parked and she said no. She texted me back to admit the thermometer had fallen to 93, well within the reported weather range (and yes, the car had been parked.) I wonder how many of these “weather stations”, are simply metal boxes designed for a specific highly specialized governmental purpose.
I just went to the Kettle-Falls.com (Chamber of Commerce) [zip code 99141] and clicked on “Kettle Falls weather forecast” and up came this:
http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Kettle+Falls+WA+99141
There you will read that the high today was 91 F at 5:05PM.
Guess nobody was up by 9:30AM to notice how hot it was then.
Well, that’s all from Kettle Falls, folks. Tune in next time, for more N-E-W-S!
Thus, it looks like NOAA may be attempting some propaganda… . It wouldn’t be the first time they have fudged the data. Guess their policy now, is, no more fudge, it’s burger time!: “If you’re going to tell a lie, tell a whopper.”
“MattN says:
June 28, 2013 at 5:54 pm
With a dewpoint of 120F, that wouldn’t be a dry heat. I wonder what the heat index translates to?”
I found a website that allowed me to calculate the heat index: http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/heatindex.shtml
Inputting 139°C with 63% relative humidity gives a heat index of 377° F / 192° C
Inputting 139°F with 63% relative humidity gives a heat index of 377° F / 192° C
“What did you say?!!” cried Janice.
“Inputting 139°F with 63% relative humidity gives a heat index of 377° F / 192° C.,” replied Jim.
“THAT IS TOO HOT!” (to be true — #[:)] — “Suspect” my eye — how about “Error!”
Err0r perhaps – but will it stay in the record?
The old record dates back to 10 july 1913, the pregreenhouse time. You would expect this record to be broken by a landslide
The NWS Quality Control column is meaningless. Around here, Fairchild AFB shows “light rain” or “drizzle” about 20% of the time in bone-dry summer. It’s obviously an error, but it’s always “OK”.
“Obviously it is an equipment malfunction.”
Or a prank.
We are going to need someone on the ground in Death Valley during this heat wave to verify the temps.
The forecast is for record breaking temperatures but I imagine the warmists would dearly love to talk about a new all-time world record in Death Valley right now.
Even if the temp has to be fiddled with somehow.
They could not find the low temperature recording at KCI (Kansas City) yesterday–it read 35 degrees F. They did “fix” it somehow.
Oh, ans PS–it was not listed as a new record that I saw, either.
MattN says: June 28, 2013 at 5:54 pm
With a dewpoint of 120F, that wouldn’t be a dry heat. I wonder what the heat index translates to?
Millions of degrees, per Algore. There’s a cave in Mexico with giant gypsum crystals that runs over 130°F with 100% humidity. If you breathe that for more than a few minutes, you can drown because your lungs are cooler than the dew point.
https://www.google.com/search?q=crystal+cave+mexico
click on the images link
Bob Diaz says:
June 28, 2013 at 6:57 pm
It should be no surprise that every now and then we hear of some record high some place. If the records go back only 100 to 150 years and there are 365 days in a year, every day represents 1 chance out of 100 to 150 that a record high may be broken. Given that there are 365 days of the year, record highs should be broken on average 2 to 4 times per year.
Brilliant, Bob. [/sarc]
Climate Change innit
Sorry, I’m not current on my electronics. But if I remember correctly. the cuttoff for the old style electronics (silicone based), not microcomputer was air conditioning after 80 F. With the introduction of microcomputers, the temperature went up but was biased after 90 F. In other words, errors were inherent in the output. So unless we are using old fashioned tube electronics, (could be cooled by open air conduction), electronics is unreliable for the accurate measurement of temperature. In old fashioned, call it steam-punk, electronics, they used slide resistors to compensate for the temperature variations to keep steady signal.
That was in the 1960’s, that I was trained in electronics, basically all that has changed, is the size of the packaging. Back then, when It got that hot, one went to the lakes, business stopped in towns, but resumed after dark.
Among all of its previously-noted magical qualities, CO2 now apparently has the ability to affect the jet stream. Amazing stuff, really.
Whoa Whoa Whoa!!! Let’s not be so hasty here guys!!! They never said the data was spurious. With a little homogenization, I’m sure the data will find its way into the next IPCC report, somewhere.
I have been watching the forecasts and comparing them to the observed readings the next day using Weather.com. If memory serves, Death Valley was forecast, yesterday, to reach 128, but topped out at 112. Phoenix was forecast to reach 119, but topped out at 116. Phoenix set their all time high yesterday anyway. However, I will check the numbers again a in a week or two to see if they were adjusted, which happens sometimes.
Perhaps Kettle Falls is hosting a local version of Burning Mann and they placed the effigy next to the temperature sensor?
Well the global all time official air Temperature record in the shade, somewhere in North Africa, I think circa 1928, was about 136 deg. F about 57.8 deg. C.. I heard many reports of US troops during the Iraq war out in full gear in 134 deg. Temps. No doubt, those desert surface Temperatures at those times go well over + 60 deg. C.
Well that is wonderful, because at that Temperature the earth radiates at 1.8 times the rate it does at “the global mean” of 288 K. And the center of the spectral peak of that LWIR emission moves from 10.1 microns, down to 8.74 microns; even further away from the CO2 15 micron band. Also the desert air is so dry, that even water vapor absorption is minimal. That 8.74 micron peak is also below the 9.6 micron Ozone band.. Well that might be a tossup, going from one edge of the ozone to the other. But the emission is definitely better placed in the “atmospheric window.”
So we should all rejoice in these “scorching” high Temps; I can almost hear the LWIR emission sizzling out to space at a near catastrophic rate; we might all freeze before this unprecedented (since last month) heat wave, is over !
The vast bulk of the atmosphere is composed of N2 and O2, non-radiative non-GHGs. They are unable to dispose of sensible heat except through evaporative loss from the top of the atmosphere. Only GHGs can radiate energy to space. Hence, in their absence, the atmosphere would heat until it could “boil” away enough mass to counterbalance solar irradiation.
Hence GHGs are cooling agents which preserve atmospheric mass. The Warmist (and Luke-warmist) positions are 180° wrong. As usual.
jim says:
June 29, 2013 at 7:08 am
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I used to do level S qualification. The temperature range was +125 to -50 C. The automotive/industrial spec is usually from +75 to -40 C. Commercial products are commonly tested from +40 to -25 C. Modern Test and Measurement instrumentation is designed to be accurate over a fairly wide range, depending on application. The products are architected to be immune to temperature effects. This is often achieved by the use of thermometers built into the devices along with temperature compensating circuitry. Built in calibration curves smooth out any remaining effects. With the advent of modern digital technology, much of which is off-the-shelf, these techniques are easy and cheap to implement. Even your laptop monitors internal temps and changes its behavior accordingly. BTW, there are some high power devices that have a top operating range of +200 C, pretty dang amazing considering that the annealing temp of semiconductors is +175 C.
The all-time record high temperature in Death Valley was set in 1913: 134 degrees F. (Interesting that this was 100 years ago, before the alarmies claim AGW began).
Within my own lifetime (I’m 65), Death Valley has reached 130 at least six times, and 129 at least once almost every year. So if the temp there goes to 129 or 130, that will be nothing new, the alarmies aside..
Death Valley isn’t the hottest place on the planet, either. In 1946 the temp reached 136 F. at a station in Libya, and temps of over 140 have been reported (not always verified) in the Danakil Depression in the Horn of Africa, which is over 500 feet below sea level – lower than Death Valley’s -282 and at about 14 north latitude, versus about 36 north for Death Valley. So one would expect the Danakil to be considerably hotter than Death Valley, even without benefit of (imaginary) AGW.
polistra says:
June 29, 2013 at 2:38 am
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Spokane has notoriously difficult to predict weather. When I was stationed there, I worked (and partied) with the meteorologists pretty regularly. They would sometimes whine about the areas chaotic summertime weather. I spent a few nights running around base firing up generators and correcting problems caused by ground strikes from thunderstorms that cropped up out of nowhere. I kind of miss those days 🙁
“It’s obviously an error, but it’s always ‘OK’.” [Polistra 2:38 AM]
LOL.
“… I was stationed there… .” [Desert Yote]
A grateful American says, “Thank you.”
And it’s STILL 139 F at this hour. Where’s some Coke swilling polar bears to mount a rescue effort of all those poor people in Kettle Falls?
I love the 133 degrees and the ‘OK”. By the way it reached 140 degree’s at 2:37 pm today. They list it as ‘suspect’ though. Darn.
139 degrees with 63% RH? Good luck with that.
Did someone move the thermometer into the sauna?
Even funnier: At 8:37am this morning it was 130 degrees and raining. OUCH.
“Chad Wozniak says:
June 29, 2013 at 12:42 pm”
I heard that on news last night too, and thought it was wrong. The Danakil Depression is in the Afar region in northern Ethiopia, with one of the oldest active volcanoes as well as the intersection of 3 tectonic plates. It is indeed 500 below sea level and will, eventually, become an in-land sea.
Patrick,
If the Denakil Depression is 500′ below sea level, a lot of power could be generated with a few 8′ diameter pipes funneling water through Pelton water wheels from the Med, or from the closest sea level river. A lot of power! If there is eventually going to be an inland sea there, why not benefit with a planned development?
It would be very inexpensive, clean hydroelectric power, without generating any pollution at all; a win-win! And of course, cheap electric power means more economic growth for the local population. If the UN was sincere, it would jump at the chance to provide that infrastructure.
Electric power = money. But I suppose since the Green lobby hates providing more electricity, they would fight such an eminently practical proposal tooth and nail. George Soros and Maurice Strong would lead the charge against it, with their holier-than-thou, fake ‘reasons’ why the indigenous folks simply cannot be allowed to benefit from such a reasonable infrastructure plan.
What is “Fuel temp?” That looked like it matched the lows and made more sense.
GungaDin says:
“Feel free to jump on this comment if you know better, but isn’t it true that the temperature of a conductor affects it’s conductance?
What I don’t know is if higher ambient temperatures effect on a conductor would result in higher or lower recorded temperature.”
I have designed numerous temperature sensor/amplification/A-D conversion circuits in my career so I know that the whole reason for amplifying and then converting to a digital signal as close to the source as possible, and then transmitting that converted digital number instead of the low level original analog signal, is to avoid the very problem about which you speak. The very purpose for transmission of a converted digital signal whether using multiple digital data lines or a single high frequency line is to minimize – no eliminate – the need for post transmission analog signal “noise” correction. Furthermore, even the simplest RTD or thermocouple transducer circuits today now usually use some kind of bridge or 4-wire system to eliminate the sensor wiring as a source of analog noise.
I wouldn’t want to guess what has caused this signal spike without onsite investigation because there are too many things that can create “false” signals like this, including for example these two:
Something else is creating heat locally besides the weather, temp measurement is accurate,
Something has corroded the sensor, or the wiring to the sensor, and the resulting circuit is now confounding moisture and temp.
Since temp measuring sensors and circuitry are now so very, very cheap, why don’t these new remote transmitting temp monitors have redundancy. Why aren’t they self-correcting? Even inexpensive (~$1.30) digital temperature reporting cicuits today can accurately measure from well below freezing to well above the boiling point of water within +/- 0.5 degree C. (See for example: http://www.analog.com/static/imported-files/data_sheets/ADT7310.pdf )
Note the dewpoint of 122F. The use of the word suspect is amusing. Reminds me of when I was in the UK in the mid 1990s and there was a news story in the local paper about an elderly woman found stabbed 17 times in her flat. The reported interviewed the constable who said “Foul play could not be ruled out”. Ya think?