[ukmicky]

Micky. As Frethack and I have said, these figures will have been adjusted to accommodate the higher temperature caused by the tarmac. So you can bet that the temperature you are seeing on your forecast is not because there is lots of tarmac.

when they give a temperature measurement for the local population it needs to be the actual temperature, if they adjusted it to accommodate the higher temperature caused by the tarmac then the actual air temperature would be higher without the adjustment and they would then be reporting a false local temperature with the lower adjusted measure.
 That would then cause health and safety warnings to be inaccurate and potentially dangerous as the heating effect of the tarmac would not only effect the local temperature at the airport but also the temperature of the surrounding towns.

If you get what i mean.

[paul.fr]

when they give a temperature measurement for the local population it needs to be the actual temperature, if they adjusted it to accommodate the higher temperature caused by the tarmac then the actual air temperature would be higher without the adjustment and they would then be reporting a false local temperature with the lower adjusted measure.
 That would then cause health and safety warnings to be inaccurate and potentially dangerous as the heating effect of the tarmac would not only effect the local temperature at the airport but also the temperature of the surrounding towns.

If you get what i mean.

But it is the actual temperature, even when adjusted. The temperatures are adjusted for reasons (such as) to do with historical readings and to make sure that any new equiptment will be calibrated to give the same readings as would the old equiptment.

There has to be a standardised tolerence of the recording equiptment, siting height and location. Changes to a recording site are adjusted to keep within these limits. As for "...if they adjusted it to accommodate the higher temperature caused by the tarmac then the actual air temperature would be higher without the adjustmen...", this is part of the standardisation. If you place a thermometer on the wall behind your patio chair and then another out of your bathroom window (above the patio)you will get two different air tempersatures...which is the correct one?

[techmind]

I was wondering if anyone out there has considered the increase in air temperatures in a local area in relation to the increase in impervious surfaces, e.g. roadways, parking lots, etc.?

I think the recent laws regarding impervious driveways are more to do with flooding than temperature, but...

The increase in temperature of built-up areas compared to nearby countryside is well-known and is called the heat island effect. I did a project on this for my GCSE geography many years ago. Long before data came on the internet, I wrote to the Met Office and they kindly provided me with very-small-print tables of daily maximum and minimum temperatures for 5 locations in the southeast of England, which I hand-copied into my computer to plot and analyse.

While the heat island effect may add a degree or two to daytime temperatures, the effect is far more pronounced in the night-time lows. Central London nighttime frequently proved to be as much as 5 degrees warmer than Gatwick Airport (a substantially rural area) for example.

[frethack]

Paul, I owe you an apology.

I became so busy with school and family issues that I did not even notice (until almost two months later) that you posted a hell of a lot of great and extra information.  I very much appreciate it.

[paul.fr]

Paul, I owe you an apology.

Don't be silly, I do it for the money! MY paypal address is....

You may want to check these out:

http://www.nkhome.com/ww/wwindex.html
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/bufkit/bufkit.html
http://www.wunderground.com/ - - look for the link to how you can have your own weather station data posted there. They also include guides and tutorials.

If you have the facility to have a webcam set up, then you may be able to get some nice timlapse images such as those found here:
http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cool/