There’s lots of hullabaloo over the supposedly tied all time temperature record of 117°F in Las Vegas on June 29th, and the potential for a new all-time temperature record in Death Valley, which would negate the all time world record of 134F set on July 10th, 1913, since the previous world record in Libya of 136.4°F (58°C) was recently said to be unreliable. More on Death Valley in the next post, but for now let’s look at Las Vegas.
I don’t know where NBC news got 117°F where they say:
The high temperature officially hit 117 degrees at Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport — equaling the airport’s record
Even Drudge reported this.
Did NBC make this up? It wouldn’t be the first time they made up a news report to make it more spectacular. The official report from NWS Las Vegas for June 29th says 115°F:
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
212 AM PDT SUN JUN 30 2013
...................................
...THE LAS VEGAS NV CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JUNE 29 2013...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1937 TO 2013
WEATHER ITEM OBSERVED TIME RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
VALUE (LST) VALUE VALUE FROM YEAR
NORMAL
..................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
YESTERDAY
MAXIMUM 115R 452 PM 115 1994 103 12 105
MINIMUM 89 529 AM 60 1941 79 10 82
AVERAGE 102 90 12 94
The 117°F is not mentioned in the Record Event Report either: 115°F is.
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
150 AM PDT SAT JUN 29 2013
...SUMMARY OF RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES BROKEN ON 28 JUNE 2013...
IN LAS VEGAS THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE OFFICIAL CLIMATE STATION AT
MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REACHED 115 DEGREES. THIS TIED THE
DAILY RECORD FOR JUNE 28TH SET IN 1994. THIS MARKS THE FIRST TIME
LAS VEGAS HAS REACHED 115 AT MCCARRAN SINCE JULY 6, 2007 AND IN THE
MONTH OF JUNE SINCE JUNE 30, 1994.IN LAS VEGAS AT NORTH LAS VEGAS AIRPORT THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REACHED
113 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD DAILY RECORD OF 108 DEGREES SET ON
JUNE 28TH 2003. THIS MARKS THE FIRST TIME NORTH LAS VEGAS AIRPORT
HAS REACHED 113 SINCE JULY 7, 2007.
So, that 115°F is fairly unremarkable as temperatures go, having been reached twice before. According to the NWS Las Vegas, summary the all time high of 117°F has been reached twice before:
Highest Maximum Temperatures Recorded in Las Vegas – 117 degrees
July 19, 2005
July 24, 1942
Source: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/vef/climate/LasVegasClimateBook/Highest%20and%20Lowest%20Maximum%20Temperatures%20Ever%20Recorded.pdf
Interesting to note that NWS Las Vegas has followed the lead of the Surface Stations project, and on their main web page today, provided photos of each weather station…well almost, they don’t have photos of the Ellis AFB weather station, just the tarmac. 5 out of six isn’t bad though, I’ll give them props for effort.
Their caption reads:
Although there are 6 official weather stations in the Las Vegas Valley, our long-term climate station is at McCarran Airport. Most weather stations are located at airports since the aviation community relies heavily on weather data for flights.
UPDATE: The new record report (preliminary, pending certification) for June 30th, today does show that the temperature reached 117F:
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
450 PM PDT SUN JUN 30 2013
...LAS VEGAS TIES THE JACKPOT OF ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES...
...ALL-TIME JUNE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT LAS VEGAS...
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE SO FAR TODAY AT MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
IN LAS VEGAS HAS REACHED 117 DEGREES. THIS TIES THE ALL-TIME RECORD
HIGH FOR LAS VEGAS FOR ANY MONTH FIRST SET ON JULY 24, 1942 AND TIED
ON JULY 19, 2005.
THIS ALSO SETS THE ALL-TIME JUNE RECORD HIGH FOR LAS VEGAS. THE
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 116 DEGREES ON JUNE 15, 1940.
THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND IS SUBJECT TO A FINAL
REVIEW AND CERTIFICATION BY THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER.
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Never let good propaganda go to waste. It’s summer and it’s hot. How unremarkable.
Tsk, tsk. I think Anthony is using the raw and uncorrected data again. He should, of course, be using the “adjusted” temperatures which are usually a couple of degrees higher.
/sarc
All I know is, I’m hopping a plane to Vienna from Blast Furnace Iraq tomorrow. Them thar Gamble-vegas types haven’t a clue about hot.
Still hot as hell. Fifteen years ago (sometime in the late ’90s) I took my wife to the Mayo clinic in Scottsdale. Dropped her off at the entrance early in the morning and went to park the car. By the time I had walked back and gotten inside the clinic my shirt was sodden.
The picture in the story shows 125. Do people think you can compare the 30’s to now? Las Vegas is much bigger than it was in the 30’s with around 4 times the number of people.
Now, you know that relying on facts and integrity are signs of a flat earther, according to our leader.
And we must all rally around our leader, no matter what.
What was the minimum value the last time it was a record maximum of 115F in 1994?
According to the linked NOAA PDF, 115° F has been achieved 30 times since 1937 but calling it unremarkable is a stretch when it’s the highest temp for that location since July 2007 and only 5 times has it been reached this early, the last was 21 yrs ago and the time before that was 43 yrs past.
Vegas has grown A LOT since 1942. In 1942, it was just a dusty patch along Hwy 91. The Flamingo didn’t even open until 1947. How can you even compare a temperature recorded there now with then?
There have also been claims of records in Phoenix. Yet evidence from Arizona USHCN stations suggests that last week’s highs were between 5F and 8F lower than the records set in the 90’s.
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/us-heatwave-in-southwest-par-for-the-course/
I’m going to wait for the Death Valley post, but also I want to put my 2 cents in as a preliminary on that, as this also relates to general heat wave. My Real Science comment:
And speaking of hot…
Yesterday [Friday] it hit 125°f in Death Valley.
That is hot, but it is still a far cry from the 134 world record set also in Death Valley in 1913. Even 129 would be far off the record, but 129 was forecast by some and it didn’t happen. The 134°F record was set in 1913, and now after a 100 years of “data” showing runaway hockey stick warming we should be seeing that 134 record passed virtually every hot summer day.
But no.
Here we are in a “historic” heat wave that Drudge has been spending days headlining like it’s the apocalypse, and we’re still 9 degrees short of the record! This doesn’t add up as far as the hockey stick warming theory. The 1913 record still stands, like the American flag still stood after the battle of New Orleans or whatever.
Didn’t WUWT report that the temperature sensor in Death Valley was moved to an area known as “the oven” several years ago?
No surprise that NBC would take liberties with the facts. Recently it was NBC Peacock Productions that produced the Discovery Channel presentation of Wallenda’s walk. Notice how many times they repeated that he crossed the Grand Canyon? First, it was NOT the Grand Canyon. Second it was not across the Little Colorado River Canyon but only from one side to an island mesa in the middle. Still an amazing feat but a whole lot of fibbing by the NBC broadcasters on the microphone.
Paul Homewood says:
June 30, 2013 at 10:52 am
Re my comment above on Las Vegas. Phoenix has also mushroomed, becoming the 5th largest city in America (a fact people are often shocked to learn). How do you compare temperatures then and now?
I just wan’t to saY SOMETHING.
The UK Guardian just censored me for daring to suggest that global temperatures were falling and had not risen in 23 years according to the satellite record….
And I thought the Guardian was a Liberal newspaper.
Ah! That’s better.
In my local paper there were 3 stories (all AP) about the coming heat wave with all the mights, could bes and other propaganda. It’s like they’ve been drooling over this heat wave for months. I guess the cool spring had got them all in a knot.
The record temperature was probably measured at a home weather station of one of the NBC affiliates located next to the air conditioning condenser on [their] concrete patio 🙂
Bart says:
June 30, 2013 at 11:13 am
Phoenix the fifth biggest city in the USA?
Not by population, per Citypop.de at
http://www.citypopulation.de/world/Agglomerations.html
10 New York United States of America 21,600,000 incl. Bridgeport, Newark, New Haven
13 Los Angeles United States of America 17,100,000 incl. Anaheim, Riverside
31 Chicago United States of America 9,750,000
42 Washington United States of America 8,050,000 incl. Baltimore
44 Philadelphia United States of America 7,250,000 incl. Allentown, Trenton
46 Boston United States of America 7,200,000 incl. Providence
46 San Francisco United States of America 7,200,000 incl. Concord, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa
54 Dallas United States of America 6,350,000 incl. Fort Worth
61 Houston United States of America 5,900,000
63 Miami United States of America 5,800,000 incl. Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach
65 Detroit United States of America 5,550,000 incl. Toledo, Windsor (Canada)
68 Atlanta United States of America 5,400,000
91 Phoenix United States of America 4,250,000
[Rankings shown are global]
Area-wise – maybe, yes.
Auto
Perhaps someone would check my maths the formula is rather nasty – but I just did a rough comparison –
Florida (Daytona Beach) Temp 25.1C Humidity 83% – Heat Content – 1257.6 Kilojoules/Kilogram
Nevada (Las Vegas) Temp 41.6C Humidity 12% – Heat Content – 307.2 Kilojoules/Kilogram
I was under the impression that green house gases trapped heat – not ‘temperature’. There is more heat on the East coast than there is in Nevada because the enthalpy of the air is higher due to its water vapor content.
Ian W says:
June 30, 2013 at 11:50 am
The old dry heat story,hey.
Auto says:
June 30, 2013 at 11:42 am
Bart says:
June 30, 2013 at 11:13 am
Phoenix the fifth biggest city in the USA?
Not by population, per Citypop.de at
http://www.citypopulation.de/world/Agglomerations.html
****************************
Agglomerations are not single incorporated places such as cities.
Phoenix is reported as sixth largest in the US here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
They all look like they are sited to the usual high standard of the NWS/NOAA/NASA . /sarc off
Mikeyj says:
June 30, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Ian W says:
June 30, 2013 at 11:50 am
The old dry heat story,hey.
More the climate ‘scientists’ showing their lack of science – or perhaps relying on the lack of science in the ‘do you want fries with that’ media. They are using the wrong units to measure ‘trapped’ heat. And everyone has joined them ‘under the lamppost’.
Ian W says:
June 30, 2013 at 11:50 am
###
This is a little pet peeve of mine. In the SWUS desert, the AWG propagandist always intimate that high temps cause drought when it is often the drought that results in high temps.
“DMarshall says:
June 30, 2013 at 10:43 am
According to the linked NOAA PDF, 115° F has been achieved 30 times since 1937 but calling it unremarkable is a stretch when it’s the highest temp for that location since July 2007 and only 5 times has it been reached this early, the last was 21 yrs ago and the time before that was 43 yrs past.
###########################
you haven’t figured it out yet. No temperature no matter how high will ever be regarded as “remarkable”. There is an unstated skeptical position that nothing remarkable can ever happen. It’s all happened before. Even if it reached 130F in Las Vegas, that record would still be attacked, because nothing remarkable can ever happen. It’s all happened before is a null hypothesis that will never be rejected, ever.