final_program_abstracts[1]

11 IMSC Session Program
The influence of weather conditions on daily/hourly
inhomogeneity adjustments
Tuesday - Parallel Session 8
Paula Brown and Art DeGaetano
Northeast Regional Climate Center/Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science,
Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
Hourly temperature and dewpoint observations have been recorded in the US since
the early 20th century. Homogeneity tests have identified that instrument and site
changes have affected these long-term records and as a result adjustments are required
to account for these changes. Most homogeneity adjustments are based on the relative
change on monthly or annual averages between a station and one or many reference
stations, with the influence of different weather conditions having received little
attention. An investigation of the effects of rain, cloud and wind on temperature and
dewpoint adjustments is made using nearby neighbour stations that are part of a
different hourly observation network. Time of day and time of year (monthly,
seasonal and annual) are also assessed as to the effect of weather conditions on
temperature and dewpoint adjusmtents on different timescales. Based on these
analyses potnetial methods to adjust hourly observations are determined.
Abstracts 149