Why is Washington DC temp. taken at Ronald Regan Washington National Aiport in Virginia?

Question

Why is the temp. for dc taken in the state of virginia

dc is not in virginia, why the weather for dc done in dc

why isnt the weather for dc done in dc

where can i find the actually temp within the city i live no where near the airport

the airport is across from the bottom of the city is it not near the majority of the city so where can i feel the real temp. of the city

Answer 1

Here is a mesonet weather stations located in DC.

Station ID C0497

http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/meso_base.cgi?stn=C0497&time=GMT

A couple of links showing almost the exact location of weather station C0497.

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=38.9572&lon=-77.0342&s=50&size=m&u=1

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.9572,-77.0342&t=k&ll=38.9572,-77.0342&spn=0.102075,0.21698&t=k

Here are links of a map and list of nearby weather stations:

http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/roman/cwa/LWX_frame.html

http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/raws_ca_monitor.cgi?state=LWX&rawsflag=290&timeobs=12&orderby=n&type=0

Hope this is what you are looking for.

Answer 2

All areas use the nearest airport weather sensors to set the records for that day; so in Dallas if it rains in Dallas itself, but not between Dallas and Fort Worth then the Dallas Fort Worth Airport will remain dry so the official record will say that no rain fell on that day.

In cases where there are more than one airport in the area then the largest airport is the one that is used to establish the record. The area would be the broadcast area of the news stations that report.

So the area that you live is close enough to the Washington National Airport that this point is considered to be the source of all records. This would be true for people in DC, people in Virginia, and for people in Maryland that live near the airport.

Airports are used because they would have the most sensitive and up to date weather sensors and they are all controlled by the FAA, so there is one standard, one set of criteria, and one method of doing it. There will also be one set of records maintained in the FAA computers. It will be duplicated in the records of any TV or radio station that predicts the weather and keeps track of the record.

Before there were air planes the official records for the weather depended on who was keeping the records. It could be city hall, or Joe Blow who is a weather nut and has a rain gauge. The further back in time you go the more likely it is to be just some random Joe Blow with a weather station.

Weather readings are taken at much more areas than at the airport and some of these are official; like the secondary airport. When a TV station reports a certain temperature and rainfall total in a specific area, which is not at an air port there is a weather watcher there. It could be a college run station, a private airport, or just someone who reliably monitors the weather. Because of this the standards can slip and that means the actual record can vary. Therefore the practice of using the nearest major airport as the standard was set up.

Answer 3

Ronald Reagan (formerly Washington National Airport) is located in the District of Columbia (DC). It is NOT in Virginia, and whoever told you that is a goof-bunny.

Reagan Airport is close enough to the middle of the city for the temperature and other readings to be correct for the city.

It's Dulles Airport that is in Virginia, outside the city.

Just look at a map.

Added Comment: to gcnp58: The FAA directory of airports officially lists Reagan airport as being in the District of Columbia. I realize that it is on the Arlington side of the Potomac, but it is a special case. It is part of DC, in legal fact.

Answer 4

The Regan Airport is in DC not Virginia. So naturally they would use the temperature reading there.

Answer 5

National Airport is in Virginia, safely nestled between Alexandria and Arlington on the western bank of the Potomac River. They use it for DC since it is right across the Potomac River from Southern DC. For example, Bolling AFB is in DC and it is due east of National.