[AZ SLIM]

I noticed that the official NWS weather station at the Leesburg airport hasn't been going below 32 degrees for this cold spell. For example, it never went below 37 last night, while mine was at 27. They are usually within 1-2 degrees of each other. I know mine is fairly accurate because I have measured it against other thermometers, plus I had ice on my BBQ area this morning (frozen water, not LE).
This reminds me of when this station totally went offline during the peak of the last hurricane, totally missing many hours of observations. This station is the official NWS station that covers a large area of central FL. Too bad it's not very accurate. I also notice that the rainfall amounts are seldom as high as what I and my neighbors measure, and we use glass tubes, not electronic gauges.

[retiredguy123]

I have two thermometers on my lanai, and they both indicated a low temperature of 36 degrees last night.

[CarlR33]

LOL, it all depends on where your probe is placed. Have you ever noticed when you take your golf cart on a cold night the ebb and flow of hot and cold air changes (provided you have your flaps up)? How close are you to the Leesburg airport?

[AZ SLIM]

Yes, I am aware of all that. I during my working years as a fire and fuels manager for the U.S. Forest Service, I was certified by the NWS as a weather observer and have extensive experience with both fixed and mobile weather stations. I was responsible for many weather stations, mostly in support of wildfire and controlled burning operations.

The point I made is that my thermometer is usually very close to the same measurement as Leesburg. Not 10 degrees different.

Also, it's mounted using NWS specifications, not on the side of the house or on my Lanai.

[thelegges]

Our freeze protection program kicked in at 4:17a this morning. Air Temp trigger set for 33° to start pump. Continued to run until 6:09, auto off once air temp raised to 35.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

when I have looked at the weather forecast from that station, it never seemed remotely close to the forecast on TV, and i disconnected my watering system from it, because the water system didn't water when the forecast had rain, but it never came close to raining here. .

lost parts of the lawn because of it. .

[Bogie Shooter]

Maybe call NWS.?

[blueash]

being broke I guess they ran out of money for upkeep. The NWS has taken a budget hit in the last year.

[rsmurano]

That’s why I have my own to control my sprinkler system

[bogmonster]

Have you ever looked at the airport? It sits in the middle of two lakes so there was probably a thick fog later that kept it from getting any lower.

[crash]

Originally Posted by AZ SLIM

I noticed that the official NWS weather station at the Leesburg airport hasn't been going below 32 degrees for this cold spell. For example, it never went below 37 last night, while mine was at 27. They are usually within 1-2 degrees of each other. I know mine is fairly accurate because I have measured it against other thermometers, plus I had ice on my BBQ area this morning (frozen water, not LE).
This reminds me of when this station totally went offline during the peak of the last hurricane, totally missing many hours of observations. This station is the official NWS station that covers a large area of central FL. Too bad it's not very accurate. I also notice that the rainfall amounts are seldom as high as what I and my neighbors measure, and we use glass tubes, not electronic gauges.

My house it went only as low as 36 last night. Maybe it is where you have your thermometer.

[FredMitchell]

Next time, check the aviation weather report from Leesburg. Look at visibility and wind speed. Low visibility would indicate fog. Fog won't exist in air below 32F (0 C). If there is fog, you can be sure that the air temperature is higher.

Fog or cloud cover reduces radiational cooling. The warmer than air temperature lakes produce steam fog.

As for rain indications, you should know better than to expect it to be the same.

[Donald_1959]

Originally Posted by AZ SLIM

I noticed that the official NWS weather station at the Leesburg airport hasn't been going below 32 degrees for this cold spell. For example, it never went below 37 last night, while mine was at 27. They are usually within 1-2 degrees of each other. I know mine is fairly accurate because I have measured it against other thermometers, plus I had ice on my BBQ area this morning (frozen water, not LE).
This reminds me of when this station totally went offline during the peak of the last hurricane, totally missing many hours of observations. This station is the official NWS station that covers a large area of central FL. Too bad it's not very accurate. I also notice that the rainfall amounts are seldom as high as what I and my neighbors measure, and we use glass tubes, not electronic gauges.

I would be extremely surprised, as a pilot this is critical information for life and safety.

[Donald_1959]

Originally Posted by AZ SLIM

I noticed that the official NWS weather station at the Leesburg airport hasn't been going below 32 degrees for this cold spell. For example, it never went below 37 last night, while mine was at 27. They are usually within 1-2 degrees of each other. I know mine is fairly accurate because I have measured it against other thermometers, plus I had ice on my BBQ area this morning (frozen water, not LE).
This reminds me of when this station totally went offline during the peak of the last hurricane, totally missing many hours of observations. This station is the official NWS station that covers a large area of central FL. Too bad it's not very accurate. I also notice that the rainfall amounts are seldom as high as what I and my neighbors measure, and we use glass tubes, not electronic gauges.

The NWS at airports are very accurate, may be off by a degree do to rounding. The sensors are redundant to assure functionality and accuracy. Inaccurate information could be deadly!!!!

[AZ SLIM]

Originally Posted by bogmonster

Have you ever looked at the airport? It sits in the middle of two lakes so there was probably a thick fog later that kept it from getting any lower.

Good point, but looking at the 3-day history it shows that during that time period it was clear and the RH was in the 70s. Not really fog conditions.