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What does "average" temperature mean? Is the average temperature for that day taken over the past 5, 10, 15 or more years? Also, do last years temperatures go into the averages reported in 2006?
Steve V. Riverton, Utah
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We use averages to give us an idea of what is considered the normal high or normal low temperature for the day. Just like in math if you have a set a numbers you would add them up and then divide by how many numbers you have to get that average. The average high for today is 91. We use 30 year averages to calculate the average for today. So on August 9th, for the set of 30 years we are using, all of the highs for the 30 year set were added up for every August 9th and divided by 30 to get that number.
The averages used in computing the average high and low for the day are 30 year averages. Right now, we're using averages that run up to 2000. Every 10 years, the averages are recalculated. So in 2010, the averages will be from the previous 30 years. This year, 2006, we record the highs and lows everyday for record keeping, but we won't factor those into the past 30 year normals until 2010. If we did calculate each year at the end of the year, it would be quite a process, we have averages for everything from temperatures to wind to heating degree days.
Answered by KSL Meteorologist Dina Freedman.
