Extended Abstract (360K)3.9
109-year record of surface temperatures in N. Alabama
John R. Christy, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL
No surface weather station in north central Alabama has operated continuously since the first was opened in the late 19th century. We present a time series of summer maximum temperatures constructed from 14 stations (13 within 40 km of current WSO) using a homogeneous segment technique. Original data forms were examined for all types of inhomogeneities in each station record (moves, instrument changes, etc.). Each station's records were broken into homogeneous segments, and a method applied to merge all segments into a single time series beginning in 1893. The overall trend is -0.13 C/decade. Results show it is likely that the summer of 1925 was the warmest summer, but uncertainties render a definitive answer impossible at this time, highlighting the inability of the State Climatologist to answer a very simple question, "When was the hottest summer?"
Session 3, Observed Climate Change I: Paleo and Instrumental Records
Monday, 14 January 2002, 1:30 PM-5:30 PM
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