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Is my microclimate really that warm?


NC_Palms

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My weather station was reporting 82.ºF while the Weather Channel app was reporting 69ºF. My readings are always within a few degrees of what is reported by the Weather Channel App.

 

My entire "yard" is surrounded by cement, enclosed by a wooden fence and its faces southeast. So I'd imagine that would increase the temperature or its just the sun hitting on my sensor. 

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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You're getting the temperature of the fence. If you want the temperature of the air you need the air to be circulating freely around the weather station, and that should be shaded so you don't get the heat absorbed by it (or a fence) distorting the reading.

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31 minutes ago, tropicbreeze said:

You're getting the temperature of the fence. If you want the temperature of the air you need the air to be circulating freely around the weather station, and that should be shaded so you don't get the heat absorbed by it (or a fence) distorting the reading.

Thanks for your help. How would I attach my sensor so the air will move freely around it?

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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The sensor can’t be in the sun. Try placing it on the north facing side of a fence/wall instead.

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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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44 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

The sensor can’t be in the sun. Try placing it on the north facing side of a fence/wall instead.

I left one of my sensors in the sun last June and it went right up to 158F!!! :laugh2:

The other sensor was in the shade and only recording 91F.   

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Dry-summer Oceanic climate (9a)

Average annual precipitation - 18.7 inches : Average annual sunshine hours - 1725

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For reasonable accuracy the weather station should be free standing away from other objects. Many have a Stevensons Screen which diminishes the effects of the sun on the air immediately surrounding the instruments. It's basically a fancy shade structure. Look them up to get an idea of how they work and then just improvise something that suits your situation.

 

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Would the sensor be more accurate at night when the sun is down, or will the fence interfere with it? 

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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5 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

Would the sensor be more accurate at night when the sun is down, or will the fence interfere with it? 

Yes it’ll be more accurate at night, and the fence won’t interfere with your temperature readings at night, it’s not a source of heat (unlike a building).

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10 hours ago, cm05 said:

Yes it’ll be more accurate at night, and the fence won’t interfere with your temperature readings at night, it’s not a source of heat (unlike a building).

Great! I am using it only to measure my low temperatures so I know when to cover some of my more tender palms. For now I guess I can keep it where it is on the fence, but I will probably move it in the future. 

 

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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On 1/9/2019, 12:08:03, UK_Palms said:

I left one of my sensors in the sun last June and it went right up to 158F!!! :laugh2:

The other sensor was in the shade and only recording 91F.   

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but if my palms are in the sun along with the sensor, will they both be around the same temperature?

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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35 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but if my palms are in the sun along with the sensor, will they both be around the same temperature?

Interesting question actually! 

I would say no, the palms wouldn't get as hot as a sensor would, in direct sunlight. My censor is made of metal and plastic so it absorbs the heat better and gets hotter. Palms are generally green and do not absorb heat like a sensor would, or say the metal on roof of a car for instance. Likewise, the tracks in Formula 1 and Nascar get up to 120F, even on a 70F day. 

But air temperature should always be measured in the shade. So if it is 85F in the shade, the temperature of a palm in direct sunlight might still be 130F, whereas the sensor in the same conditions, in direct sunlight may be 155F. It's because of the different materials. 

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Dry-summer Oceanic climate (9a)

Average annual precipitation - 18.7 inches : Average annual sunshine hours - 1725

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40 minutes ago, UK_Palms said:

Interesting question actually! 

I would say no, the palms wouldn't get as hot as a sensor would, in direct sunlight. My censor is made of metal and plastic so it absorbs the heat better and gets hotter. Palms are generally green and do not absorb heat like a sensor would, or say the metal on roof of a car for instance. Likewise, the tracks in Formula 1 and Nascar get up to 120F, even on a 70F day. 

But air temperature should always be measured in the shade. So if it is 85F in the shade, the temperature of a palm in direct sunlight might still be 130F, whereas the sensor in the same conditions, in direct sunlight may be 155F. It's because of the different materials. 

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense.

I’ll move the sensor into the shade later. I am not as interested in measuring the daytime temperatures as much as I am with the nighttime lows. So I guess I can get a more accurate reading when everything is dark. 

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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Even on this frigid day in the mid to high 30s the sun felt WARM. Feel a trunk or something that receives sun and its warm to the touch despite it being frigid outside. I believe this has some effect but doesn't combat cold desiccating winds, but Im sure it has a positive effect. But then again Im a lamen on the matter.

LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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2 minutes ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

Even on this frigid day in the mid to high 30s the sun felt WARM. Feel a trunk or something that receives sun and its warm to the touch despite it being frigid outside. I believe this has some effect but doesn't combat cold desiccating winds, but Im sure it has a positive effect. But then again Im a lamen on the matter.

Definitely the leaves will heat up when in direct sun. Just not as much as other materials like my plastic censor. 

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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1 hour ago, NC_Palms said:

Definitely the leaves will heat up when in direct sun. Just not as much as other materials like my plastic censor. 

 

22F upfront in shade 26F on south side in the shade and a whopping 48.3F on the east side in the sun. Later that day when the temp got back into the mid 40s or so that sensor was damn near 90F! The sun is why my eastern side rarely if ever freezes and when it does there is a 6ft to 8ft semi cirlce that even the rare case it does freeze the sun instantly thaws it even when its well bellow freezing.

 

 

 

 

 

LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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1 hour ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

 

22F upfront in shade 26F on south side in the shade and a whopping 48.3F on the east side in the sun. Later that day when the temp got back into the mid 40s or so that sensor was damn near 90F! The sun is why my eastern side rarely if ever freezes and when it does there is a 6ft to 8ft semi cirlce that even the rare case it does freeze the sun instantly thaws it even when its well bellow freezing.

 

 

 

 

 

I think I already saw that video when you shared it before. On your eastern side you should try a to grow a Sabal palmetto.  

Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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40 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

I think I already saw that video when you shared it before. On your eastern side you should try a to grow a Sabal palmetto.  

 

Yeah I shared it in another thread but for those in this conversation can see what sun does to a sensor around here lol. As for sabal palmetto I have 2 in the garage from @frienduvafrond that I plan to try. One of them will go in this spring for sure, while the other needs some time to grow I think.

 

 

LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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