6/16/2014 Thermometer in the shade/sun.

(hot, record, temperatures, day) - Weather -Temperature, sun, sunlight, rain, hurricanes, tornadoes, climate, forecasts, hu
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Thermometer in the shade/sun. (hot, record, temperatures, day)
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02-07-2012, 07:13 PM
Joe90

Location: Top of the South, NZ
6,187 posts, read 2,537,014 times
Reputation: 2104
Thermometer in the shade/sun.
Today, the difference between the shade temp and sun temp is about 26C/50F. The shade temp (at about
11am) was 22C/74F, and the same thermometer (a white plastic one) was about 48C/118F 6 minutes later.
The thermometer was laying on grass about 30 metres from the nearest concrete/structure.
What is the difference where you are?. Some places will be too hot to measure, because most mercury or
alcohol thermometers only go up to 50C, but I'd be interested to know,wherever you are, and if you are able
to.


02-08-2012, 12:02 AM
B87

Location: Surrey
2,594 posts, read 1,068,649 times
Reputation: 655
I put a thermometer in direct sun in June once and it read 56C. The air temperature was 33C.
Pretty much every day between April-Oct will get somewhere between 35-60C in direct sunlight.

02-08-2012, 06:00 AM
dhdh

2,206 posts, read 1,367,754 times
Reputation: 1102
Measuring temps in sunlight is totally irrelevant to anything, as the temp will vary according to sun angle,
cloud cover, and thermometer color

02-08-2012, 06:34 AM
nei

Location: Western Massachusetts
24,217 posts, read 10,789,715 times
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I don't think putting your thermometer in direct sunlight measures anything. The sun is a heat source, it's like
putting your thermometer near a stove.
And as dhdh said, your reading will vary with sun angle an thermometer color. A black thermometer left out in
direct almost vertical sun should heat up quickly.
Last edited by nei; 02-08-2012 at 09:16 AM..

02-08-2012, 07:15 AM
dunno what to put here

Location: Leeds, UK
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I think you're both missing the point of this thread.. lol

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6/16/2014 Thermometer in the shade/sun. (hot, record, temperatures, day) - Weather -Temperature, sun, sunlight, rain, hurricanes, tornadoes, climate, forecasts, hu
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02-08-2012, 11:15 AM
Joe90

Location: Top of the South, NZ
6,187 posts, read 2,537,014 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dunno what to put here
I think you're both missing the point of this thread.. lol
Well said, dunno what to put here.
I know that it's not really scientific, but would still be interested in any differences. The time of year, and
latitude can be taken into consideration. I use a white plastic thermometer, which has the glass touching at
only two points (no metal). It should be possible to estimate a typical difference
I have been doing this for a while (with the same thermometer) and am interested to see that, at this time of
year, the biggest difference is at about 11 am( solar noon), but in winter it is a about 2.00pm.

02-08-2012, 11:30 AM
dunno what to put here

Location: Leeds, UK
13,443 posts, read 6,635,586 times
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Well, to answer your question, I've noticed similar at night - temperatures with a thermometer/sensor on say
concrete or grass at night can get seriously low which is why I often take amateur weather stations on
Wunderground.com with a pinch of salt

02-08-2012, 12:18 PM
Joe90

Location: Top of the South, NZ
6,187 posts, read 2,537,014 times
Reputation: 2104
Quote:
Originally Posted by dunno what to put here
Well, to answer your question, I've noticed similar at night - temperatures with a
thermometer/sensor on say concrete or grass at night can get seriously low which is why I often
take amateur weather stations on Wunderground.com with a pinch of salt
I think most thermometers are sited where they over record temperatures, porches, verandahs etc. I do place
a thermometer on the grass on frosty mornings, to see the difference from the air temp(measured at 1.8m/6ft
off the ground) and it averages at out 4C/8F.
I have 8 thermometers placed around the property and know where the hot and cold spots are. There is little
difference in max temps, but min temps vary greatly. Last year, which had the coldest minimums for a number
of years, saw a temp of -4.8C/24F in a gully, but a ridge only 200 metres away was 3C/38F at the same time.
All are shade readings.

06-30-2012, 09:06 AM
noblebutts

1 posts, read 2,486 times
Reputation: 13
Direct Sun is very important
Hi guys,
We all know the official temperatures are taken in the shade and we know why. In recent time the "how it
feels" humidity factor is added to the weather reports. Direct sun is a reality to many folks, and the "95 feels
like 97" is not nearly so meaningful if you are unlucky enough to spend time outdoors. It would be very
meaningful to add "Direct Sun" to our weather. 95 degrees is mild in the shade feels fairly mild in the Texas
summer, but can translate to 110 or 115 if you are forced to be in the sun. I say this is an important weather
item that has been missing from our local weather.

06-30-2012, 09:14 AM
Patricius Maximus

Location: Laurentia
4,859 posts, read 2,208,762 times
Reputation: 1641
Adding that to weather reports would be a good idea, as an additional item. There would have to be cooked
up some formula to correlate sun strength with the "feels like" increase .
For that matter I'd like to see humidex and heat index, wind chill, dew point, and detailed ceiling information (if
available) in all weather reports as well. Many prevailing weather reports and maps don't include nearly enough
information. And I'd also like to see the official weather station network grow much denser worldwide.

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