National Weather Service claims it would be unscientific NOT to use artificially inflated temperature records

Political bias may be trumping scientific fact at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). When it was pointed out to the federal agency that a weather station was reading temperatures that were demonstrably false, they replaced the faulty sensor, but failed to correct the false temperature readings. Furthermore, the agency substituted satellite-sensed sea-surface temperatures readings, which showed global surface temperatures as being static, with dubious data that suggests global surface temperatures are on the rise.⁽¹⁾

The questionable weather report stems from Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport, which is home to one of most important weather stations in the United States. The Reagan National has been dubbed a “heat island” for its close proximity to infrastructure and the Potomac River. For the past 19 months, however, its temperatures have registered warmer than areas in the surrounding region.^(1,2)

In some cases, the Reagan National’s temperature readings have been warmer than normal compared to local temperature readings. Last July, for example, the Reagan National recorded temperatures that were two degrees higher than normal. On the other hand, the Washington Dulles International Airport, which is a mere 19 miles away, logged temperature readings that were a degree cooler than normal.⁽²⁾

Conflicting temperature readings

In fact, the Reagan National was the only weather station to record temperatures at or above 90 degrees in the D.C. area for 14 days. The U.S. National Arboretum, for example, only recorded 11 days in July when temperatures  reached or exceeded 90 degrees; the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Upper Marlboro only recorded seven days in July when temperatures reached or exceeded 90 degrees.⁽²⁾

The atypical temperature readings aren’t bound to July. From January 2014 through July 2015, the average monthly temperature difference from previous monthly temperature averages was 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit at Reagan National. While 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit might not sound like much, it’s a huge difference when it comes to record temperatures.

Although there are various factors that explain why Reagan National is hot, the recorded temperatures do not match climate patterns in the D.C. area. In the 1980s, for instance, Reagan National and Dulles had temperature differences within one degree of each other. Whenever Reagan National had a warmer-than-usual month, so did Dulles. From January 2014 to July 2015, however, the average monthly temperature at Reagan National was recorded as 2.2 degrees hotter than Dulles.⁽²⁾

When Reagan National was made aware of these differences, the federal agency replaced the sensor within a week. They found that the previous sensor was recording temperatures 1.7 degrees too high, which accounts for much of the 2.1 degree difference between the weather stations.⁽¹⁾

Cooking the books, not the planet

Although replacing the sensor within a week is remarkably quick for a federal agency, airport sensors are supposed to be checked every three months. There are, therefore, two possibilities: Either the federal agency was aware of the sensor and did not replace it accordingly, or they were not aware of the sensor and did not check it as they should have.⁽²⁾

Even though Reagan National acknowledges that the sensor was broken, the agency refuses to correct the faulty temperatures readings for the past 19 months. They claim that correcting the error wouldn’t be “scientifically defensible.” In other words, the taxpayer-funded National Weather Service (NWS), a component of the NOAA, claims it would be unscientific to not use artificially inflated temperature records! In the meantime, people will reference these “record” temperatures as “evidence” for global warming.⁽¹⁾

Readjusting the temperatures would be an easy fix for the agency. Nevertheless, the NWS refuses to adjust temperatures that contradict the claims of global warming. On the other hand, the NOAA did not mind readjusting the global temperature history in July, to make it appear to show a global warming trend.⁽¹⁾

Far from global temperatures cooking the planet, the federal agency is cooking their books.

Sources include:

(1) RealClearPolicy.com

(2) WashingtonPost.com