Weather Forecaster: "It's 20% Colder This Past Month" -- WHAAAT?

Free Republic ^ | 12/23/05 | self

[beyond the sea]

This morning the newsette on my local ABC television affiliate reported with great gusto to my fellow Pittsburgh area viewers that this December is 20% colder than was last December.

What in the world does that mean?

Now back in school in the 50's I heard about absolute zero, which was -273 C., -459 F., or 0 Kelvin.

As is true here this past month, the average temperature is 10 degrees less than the same period last year, from 39 degrees average last year to 29 degrees average this year (my gas bill informed me). How in the world does anyone determine that “this December is 20% colder than last December”?

At what temperature do you begin to tabulate? I’ve heard these kinds of “percentage change” claims by weather reporters from time to time over the years. What are they talking about?

I figure there are some FReeper science geniuses, perhaps still in their pajamas, who can 'splain this kind of report.

Hmmmm.

[beyond the sea]

Merry Christmas to all ....................(and whatever else may apply) :-)

[FreedomPoster]

Dig around, see if you can find historical data on "heating degree days". That'd be about the only measure I can think of, that would be reasonable to use to back up that statement.

[B4Ranch]

Visit to Greenland May Chill Hot Air Hoax
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/visit_to_greenland.html

[rambo316]

It's all part of "global warming". Didn't you know that?

My word, where have you been. In "global warming" it gets frigid. It is elementry.

[beyond the sea]

This morning the newsette on my local ABC televiosion affiliate

****

Ooops, I wonder if you could correct that spelling for me (television). I can't believe I missed it. Thank you.

[Sociopathocracy]

"I invented global warming. And, this is making me sooooo mad!"

[rambo316]

I forgot, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my Freeper Friends.

[rambo316]

Hilarious! The goron on my computer screen. Makes me want to throw up.

[Fresh Wind]

If the world is getting warmer, how come Algore has so much extra insulation?

[beyond the sea]

Photographs of the shore of Greenland show the sea ice surrounding it has been melting. But upon my visit, this reporter was shown evidence that the icecap, where most of the ice is located, is growing significantly. ....... In Antarctica, temperatures on the icecap are decreasing. Satellite radar surveys of Antarctica and Greenland have shown that the icecaps are getting larger. Reports from the Mohn Sverdrup Center for Global Ocean studies in Norway state that, in the past 11 years, Greenland’s icecap has increased over 21 inches.

I guess those under-the-ocean volcanoes aren't doing their job.

;-)

http://www.iceagenow.com/Ocean_Warming.htm

Underwater Volcanoes Erupting Simultaneously All Over the World - March 14, 2005 - Hundreds of underwater volcanoes are erupting all over the world, especially around the Ring of Fire.

Underwater volcanoes are erupting in Australia, Greece, New Zealand and many other countries including the American Northwest, which is experiencing an unprecedented level of underwater volcanism. Andaman Nicobar Island is experiencing underwater volcanism in both the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal.

Tectonic movements have gone up by several folds in the last nine months, say geologists, so much so that they don’t have enough monitoring mechanisms to keep track.

[Thane_Banquo]

I guess they use averages.

(29 - 39)/39 = -0.256 = -25.6%

[beyond the sea]

Al looks like he's had a little too much Häagen-Dazs........ or he's bloated from too much iced tea.

****

The Iced Tea Defense

Vice President Al "I-have-to-go-a-lot" Gore has decided upon the famous Iced Tea defense to explain how it was he didn't know anything about the Buddhist Temple scam. He is suggesting that, inasmuch as he had consumed a great deal of iced tea during the meeting at which it was discussed, the more illegal aspects of the visit must have been decided upon when he had left the room to, well, you know.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Exactly. Due to global warming, absolute zero has risen from -459 F to 27 F.

[burzum]

The only value that you can use to reference to to tabulate a percent change in temperature is absolute zero (-273.15 °C). If you are doing a temperature calculation, it is never wrong to convert to units of kelvins.

There are cases where you can compare percentage changes from an offset system. Comparison of differences of values are OK. For example, if you pressurize your tire from 10 psig to 20 psig, you can say that you doubled the pressure difference even though you haven't doubled the absolute pressure of the air in the tire.

This does not apply in this case. The correct value is a 3.3% decrease in temperature.

[Rennes Templar]

I'm not into global warming, but the temp here in southern Montana has been in the 40's the past couple days, and is forecast for 55 on Christmas day! Whats up with that!!??

[BluH2o]

Live in south west Ohio ... our weather for December has been very close to what Pittsburgh has experienced ... much colder than usual. However, last summer we (Pittsburgh experienced much the same) had over 30 days of 90 degree plus weather over the course of the summer. Typically we'll get approx. 12 days of 90 degree weather ... so it seems to balance out over the course of the seasons.

[burzum]

Correction, I made a small error. A 2.1% decrease in temperature.

[burzum]

I had a picture sent to me in an email of a thermometer in Butte about a week or two ago. At first I thought it was upside down. It read -28 °F.

Perhaps the temperature is just averaging out.

[Glenn]

All I know is that my utility bills are going to be more than 20% much more greater than they weren't last December.

This winter has not started out so gooder.