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Old 08-01-2017, 05:21 PM
 
Location: Chicago
3,569 posts, read 7,197,612 times
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Midway is among urbanity and closer to the lake.

Is there an actual reason?
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Old 08-01-2017, 07:09 PM
 
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Without researching or googling using only my brain I would guess because they have hi tech gear to get the best weather for planes. Plus it's in the center of the population giving a good reading the people who live by lake know how to Gage the temp diff .
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Old 08-01-2017, 10:13 PM
 
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Google is your friend

Ask Tom: Why is the official Chicago weather station not in the Loop? - Chicago Tribune

Quote:
By definition, only one weather station can be a city's official station, and it's O'Hare International Airport for Chicago. However, other weather observation sites can be used in addition to the official site, and this is the case here. A few locations in Chicago and several other locations in the suburbs report every hour, 24 hours a day. The official weather observation station at O'Hare and the station at Midway Airport are the main sites for Chicago. The designation as "official" means it is the site for the city's weather records and it does not mean observations at other locations are less accurate or otherwise inferior.
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Old 08-01-2017, 10:22 PM
 
Location: WA Desert, Seattle native
9,398 posts, read 8,873,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
Thank you, that is the best answer to this. I don't think O'Hare is off-base as a good official temperature location. It combines the city with the suburbs nicely, as it is located just west of the city, and just east of the suburbs. I guess a purist would consider a downtown location more accurate, but as for representing most of the population, O'Hare is nicely situated. Beyond that, airports reflect official weather records in about 96% of U.S. cities.
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Old 08-01-2017, 10:46 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post

I think they should just replace Google with "Ask Tom".
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Old 08-01-2017, 10:47 PM
 
Location: Edmonds, WA
8,975 posts, read 10,208,043 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pnwguy2 View Post
Thank you, that is the best answer to this. I don't think O'Hare is off-base as a good official temperature location. It combines the city with the suburbs nicely, as it is located just west of the city, and just east of the suburbs. I guess a purist would consider a downtown location more accurate, but as for representing most of the population, O'Hare is nicely situated. Beyond that, airports reflect official weather records in about 96% of U.S. cities.
I don't personally consider downtowns to be the most accurate location primarily due to the urban heat island effect. It's a legitimate phenomenon, and skews the temps a couple degrees warmer for the most part. Suburban locations are often more accurate and reflective of the general metro area.
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Old 08-01-2017, 10:53 PM
 
Location: WA Desert, Seattle native
9,398 posts, read 8,873,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefox View Post
I don't personally consider downtowns to be the most accurate location primarily due to the urban heat island effect. It's a legitimate phenomenon, and skews the temps a couple degrees warmer for the most part. Suburban locations are often more accurate and reflective of the general metro area.
Agreed with the "heat island" effect. However, Chicago by the lake is generally cooler than the metro area in the warm season. And can be warmer in the late fall and early winter!
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Old 08-01-2017, 11:01 PM
 
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MDW was the official site until 1980 or so. The Federal Building and the U of Chi. were official prior to MDW.

Logically it makes sense for the airports to be official sites as the pilots are highly dependent on the accuracy of the data.
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Old 08-01-2017, 11:07 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
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In addition to the airport sites, there is another location at Northerly Island. This location is not as old as the others and does not report precipitation. Northerly Island's annual average temperature is warmer than O'Hare, but cooler than Midway. Summer lows and winter highs are similar at the two locations. However, winter lows are often 1-2 degrees warmer and summer highs 4-5 degrees cooler than Midway. The growing season is usually longer at Northerly Island than the airports due to moderated temperatures caused by the lake. During the 2013-2016 time period, O'Hare averaged 49.7°, Northerly Island 50.3°, and Midway 51.7°. Also, it is worth noting that the primary Midway Airport site is a few miles southwest of the actual airport. In addition to these sites, others are scattered around the city and suburbs, although many have sporadic data. For more information, visit National Weather Service Climate.
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Old 08-05-2017, 07:10 AM
 
29,520 posts, read 19,612,482 times
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^^

Midway has two readings. 3SW is operated off site by Frank Wachowski, and there is a station on the Midway grounds as well..

Midway best represents the "city" temperature. Far enough from the lake not to be that much influenced by lake breezes like Northerly Island and the UofC are, yet still the urban environment which separates it from suburban locations (warmer nights). ORD is more representative of the near north suburbs.


Jeff Masters pointed this out during the heat wave of July 2012




The only reason they switched "official" readings from MDW to ORD in Nov 1980 was that ORD has more "prestige"... I'm being serious.
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