However, I did learn something from reading the article. Did you know that temperature forecasts are based on eye-level? I had no idea.
"Temperature forecasts are made for eye-level. However, temperatures near the ground on clear, calm nights can be 5 to 10 degrees lower for several hours, especially around and just prior to sunrise," Sosnowski continued.
2 comments:
The only eye level referred to in weather lore is for growing corn, which should be as high as an elephant's eye when fully mature.
I believe the eye level you have referred to is in NOAA's Instruction 10-1302 (Oct 4, 2005) for siting a weather observation station. 4 to 6 feet for the air intake of a remote sensor. Wind readings are supposed to be taken 33 feet (10 meters) off the ground.
The science behind this air temperature height requirement is all about cold-air pooling, which, as you suggest, can be extreme in a very short air-column.
I recall there being a similar effect when measuring fallout. A couple feet of air will block alpha particles, so what might look safe from a gieger counter probe held at about shoulder-height by an adult could be very bad indeed for young-uns.
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