Fresno didn’t hit record 115 despite sensor readings. National Weather Service explains
A weather controversy?
The National Weather Service in Hanford on Wednesday confirmed Fresno’s high temperature on Tuesday was 114 despite the city’s sensor reading 115 more than a dozen times between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Multiple readers of The Fresno Bee pointed out the discrepancy on Wednesday. Meteorologist Carlos Molina explained the equipment at the Fresno Air Terminal takes measurements every five minutes and makes calculations to determine the high.
“The sensor is sampling the air and when it gets all of its numbers will take the one that’s the most representative,” he said.
So the National Weather Service’s official almanac reads 114.
The all-time record for any day of 115 degrees, set on July 8, 1905, still stands. Tuesday’s 114 tied for the second-highest all time, and the highest ever on record for Sept. 6.
Whether one is looking at the official almanac or the real-time gauge, surely they can agree it’s hot. And, the heat isn’t over.
Near record heat is expected in the San Joaquin Valley today and Wednesday. High temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley this afternoon will be 109 to 114 degrees. An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for lower elevations in Central California until 8 PM Friday. #cawx pic.twitter.com/dObpoodxhl
— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) September 6, 2022
Records are expected to fall Wednesday and Thursday, when the predicted temperatures at or above 110 would beat records of 108 each day, according to Molina.
High temperatures may get back to seasonal norms of about 95 or lower during the weekend, he said.
Hurricane Kay forming off the coast of Baja California is also making its way to the lower half of California, he said. There is potential for it to reach the San Joaquin Valley and bring rain.
It would be a small amount of 0.01 to 0.05 inches in Fresno and the Valley, he said. Southern California could see an inch, and San Diego may get as much as 3 inches.
