World Extreme Weather Monitor Blog
Notes and analysis on weather record data: what the numbers on this site show, how records are set, and what changed in the figures. 5 articles, newest first. The RSS feed carries every post.
Articles
Newest first- How We Count Weather Records and Why We Differ From NOAA A short guide to what counts as a record here, which stations qualify, how ties and provisional values are handled and why totals can differ slightly from NOAA.
- Why the Ratio of Record Highs to Record Lows Matters A single count of records says little on its own. The ratio of record highs to record lows is a steadier signal of whether the climate is shifting.
- What Is a Heat Dome and How Do We Detect Heat Waves? A heat dome is a persistent high pressure ridge that traps hot air. We detect heat waves from station records and say heat dome only when data confirms one.
- Station Moves and City Records: How Threaded Records Work Cities move their weather stations, and a naive record can jump. Here is how we join stations into a thread so a city record survives a move, and what we flag.
- The Oldest Weather Records Still Standing Some daily weather records survive for over a century. See how we find the oldest standing records and what their age does and does not tell you.