Do Weathermen lie?

I think they do. I have some stuff to back it up. And I think that the unintended consequence has been fuel for those who believe in the global warming myth (man-made or otherwise).

What this is not
This is not an attack on any single weatherman or meteorologist - whether I know that person or not.

What this is
This is an attack on a habit, a system, a way of doing things that cannot be easily corrected now in the information age.

How it started:
As a boy, I noticed patterns easily and more clearly than others. My son today has the same gift, and it amazes my wife constantly. As I watched the news, I'd notice that the weatherman would say the daytime high was far cooler than what our thermometer outside said.

So I learned, and put the thermometer in a shady place. Same result, though not quite as drastic. So I bought more thermometers, and noticed that they roughly all said the same thing. But what the weatherman would claim as the daytime high never matched up. Sometimes it was close, if not right on the money - but other times it was not as close.

Early Evidence:
I started logging what the weatherman gave as stats: daytime highs and lows, quoted averages for this time of year on both. I did this virtually every day for three years. What I found was amazing.

Highs:
Daytime highs in the winter were always skewed up. In the summer, they were skewed down. In the temperate times (spring and fall) they were right on the money. The skewing started in mid June, or any day the temperature went over 92 degrees. The skewing of summer highs was usually dropped by the end of September.

Lows:
Daytime lows were always skewed up in the winter. Usually mid December through February. Any time the temperature got below 40 degrees, there was a skewing effect between what was reported, and what recorded on my thermometers.

Why I claim it was misinformation:
Many might say: "Your thermometers were not official, therefore, we cannot trust your results."
Possibly. Except that they all got measurements within 3 degrees of one another. They were different brands, and of different makes (some mercury, some dial-type).

Continued evidence:
These days, weathermen might try the same, except everybody and their grandmother has apps on phones and puts a picture of it on Facebook. So major weather outlets like Weatherbug and Weather Channel and others would be foreced to admit that either their readings were not correct or that their reported high was not correct. Even still, I have seen Weather Channel (the app on my phone) differ by a degree or two.

One time recently, we had highs near 110 degrees every day for several straight days. One day, the official high was 109. My phone registered 111 at the peak. The next day, my phone went to 109. Later, Weather Channel (on my phone) reported the official high was 107. In both instances, the reported official high was 2 degrees lower than actual at the time.

So what am I suggesting:
There is less skewing now. But it still exists. Watch your phone app, and the affiliated source. Hot days especially. Screen capture the highest you see, then compare it to their later-reported "official high." You will see the difference.

Why would they do this?
Easy. To make the area seem nicer to live than another area.
Remember, I was raised in Chattanooga - a city with a chip on its shoulder if I've ever seen one.  I have not seen as much skewing since I moved to the Nashville area.


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