Calculating a Daily Normal Temperature Range That Reflects Daily Temperature Variability

Normal temperatures, which are calculated by the National Climatic Data Center for locations across the country, are normalized average temperatures. They are used in the many facets of media, industry, and meteorology, and a given day's normal temperature is often used synonymously with what the temperature ‘should be.' However, allowing some leeway to account for natural seasonal variations can be a more accurate representation of the measures of temperature we can expect on a given day – a ‘normal range.' Providing such a range, especially to the public, presents a more accurate perspective of what the temperature ‘usually is' on any particular day of the year. One way of doing this is presented in this study for several locations across North Carolina. The results yielded expected higher variances in the cooler months and seemed to well represent the varied weather that locations in North Carolina tend to experience. The method is simple and applicable to any location.