How do meteorologists calculate average temperatures?

Asked by kelly (1918

) March 3rd, 2007

when the newscast says " the average temperature for this date is ----"; from what source? over what period is the average calculated? what weather station or stations go into the average temperature for a city; say Chicago, do they use only the O'Hare airport temp or also the temp from Midway airport? does each weather data station generate their own average high and low?

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2 Answers

Temperature stations are spread all over. Many Airports and schools have weather stations. The average temp for an entire city is the sum of all the stations divided by the number of stations.

b (1873

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clarification: when the weather forecast says " todays average high is ---,..." is this average number the high temp for that day for the last 5 years, 50 years, what?

kelly (1918

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