Heating Up the Big Apple

Heating Up the Big AppleIn the November/December 1998 issue of Weatherwise, Bob Smith of Providence, Rhode Island, asked... We are a group of 12 young men interested in meteorology. We meet regularly to discuss our favorite hobby and compare notes. We are puzzled Central Park in New York City consistently reports the highest minimum temperatures in the region. In the autumn, New York City is often one of the last stations reporting a freezing temperature in …

…less rapidly than bare ground in open country. This explains most of the observed anomaly. The thermometer in Central Park is almost surely recording an accurate minimum temperature. It is maintained in the same way as thermometers at other ASOS sites, including those in Bridgeport, Newark, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and Baltimore. The heat island effect that has caused elevated minimum temperatures in Central Park has been at work for many decades and will surely continue.