Where are the thermometers located when you get a weather report for a city?

Question

Are there many of them in one city and the average is given? Are some in the sun and some in the shade?

Answer 1

Weather observations always report the temperature in the shade (unless something else is said).

There are regulations about how temperature should be measured, and these regulations are similar in all countries.

Traditionally, temperature is supposed to be measured two meters (six or seven feet) above a grass surface. The thermometer is to be placed in a white cage, protecting it from the sun, and there must be plenty of holes in the cage, allowing the wind to pass through rather freely. The door of the cage must face away from the sun (meaning, to the north in the northern hemisphere).

Nowadays temperature is often measured a bit differently - the procedure is automated in many cases, and the white cages have been replaced by equipment that looks a bit different - but the results you get are the same as with the white cages.

The weather services generally try to place the weather observation stations in places that are typical for the area that they are in. If there are several small towns in an area, the equipment won't be placed in the town that is known for having unusually high temperatures in the summer. It will be placed in the town that is believed to have temperatures close to the average for that area. (Airports are exceptions from this.)

It is not common that you have more than one "official" reading from the same city.

Answer 2

Have you not seen a weather station set up before? They can be just about anywhere.. but yest they are almost always found in airports. However this is only one place. They have them in kinds of places. They can be at the side of the road in a caged in area or in a forest opening... (needs to be in more of an opening to get a proper wind reading) I saw two up on mountain tops while hunting in Montana. They don't have to be in the shade because they have some kind of thermal shield cover they put over the thermometer to protect it from direct sunlight misreadings.
I have a backyard weather station at my house here in Arizona. I wouldn't say they have a bunch in each city and then they take an average, but rather they pick one spot in small towns or a few spots in large cities (like New York) and take an offical reading from there.
Hope this helps.

Answer 3

This depends where you are getting the reports from. If from the National Weather Service, the great majority of them are from ASOS (weather) stations at airports. If on TV, they tend to use a combination of them and readings from spotters who have stations (many people/schools volunteer to do this for them in exchange for the occasional mention in the reports) - they also use AWS stations:

http://www.aws.com/aws_2001/asp/getLiveWeather.asp

In Pennsylvania, The DOT & DEP operate stations which can be seen when traveling along highways and such:

http://climate.met.psu.edu/data/mesonet/metahome.php

That map doesn't seem to be fully operable ATTM, but I have downloaded data archives from some of the locations at the site here:

http://climate.met.psu.edu/ida

Here is another link for some DEP data:

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/aq/aqm/pollt.html

These tend to be at better locations than many of the AWS stations - which can be on the roof of a school and such. Many states probably do similarly.

Answer 4

Most are usually located at local airports, some could be at your local TV station.

Answer 5

There mostly on teleophone poles, and radars, and the airport, stuff like that

Answer 6

these days allmost allways at airports.