Climate battle: Raleigh 1887-1916 vs. Raleigh 1987-2016 (snowfall, warm, records)
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2016 marked the 130th year of temperature records in the Raleigh area. Which means it is now possible to compare the 30 year normals of the climate today against those of the climate a century ago. There was a station move from the downtown to the airport in the 1940s, and the type of thermometers they use and time of day they measure temperature have changed, so it may not be a great measure of local climate change. However, I still find the comparison interesting. High temperatures were significantly lower in the past, but low temperatures were generally a bit warmer. There used to be more of a summer wet season, as well. Snow was also a lot more common.
I prefer the old Raleigh for being generally colder, snowier, and wetter.
I like the higher diurnal range and dryness of the new one, but they're both pretty wet so that doesn't make much difference so the increased snowfall an drew cooler temps of the old one win out.
2016 marked the 130th year of temperature records in the Raleigh area. Which means it is now possible to compare the 30 year normals of the climate today against those of the climate a century ago. There was a station move from the downtown to the airport in the 1940s, and the type of thermometers they use and time of day they measure temperature have changed, so it may not be a great measure of local climate change. However, I still find the comparison interesting. High temperatures were significantly lower in the past, but low temperatures were generally a bit warmer. There used to be more of a summer wet season, as well. Snow was also a lot more common.
I prefer the old Raleigh for being generally colder, snowier, and wetter.
Actually the airport seems to lie in a dry spot. Go to this link and check out stations around Raleigh and they are all 3-4 inches wetter. Seems the airport is a frost hollow too then since it's drier?
Also January has not changed at all it seems temp wise in Raleigh compared to atlanta for 2000-2016 period compared to 1981-2010, Atlanta warms by more than a degree in January while Raleigh warms by a few fractions of a degree.
Seems the biggest variation between the 2 is spring summer and fall while winter offers warmer nights 1887-1916.
I really like the old Raleigh since it's record lows most months are higher, minimums are warmer, and summers are wetter. I wonder if it was snowier in the old Raleigh because it was wetter not cooler. I think mean Temps between the 2 would be similar. Also the old Raleigh would have had a higher January mean.
Another very interesting observation Is that 1987-2016 looks more Nina dominated while 1887-1916 looks more Nino dominated.
Wow, old Raleigh managed to have a cooler summer and warmer January than new Raleigh plus more snow! Definitely old Raleigh wins this for me. I wish global warming affected winter more than summer, but it seems it's just the opposite.
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