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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
I've always been interested in weather, but since I've moved to upstate New York, I've become a wanna-be geek, given the extremes here. Part of achieving full geekhood is understanding what all the terms mean.
A pair I see a lot are "heating days" and "cooling days." What are these? And what is "wet bulb"?
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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Wet bulb is part of a thermometer pair: wet bulb/dry bulb. The dry bulb will give you the absolute temperature of the air and the wet bulb will give you a cooler temperature based on the cooling effect of the evaporating water on the bulb. The drier the air the cooler the wet bulb, since there will be more evaporation. There is a formula for determining the relative humidity based on the wet bulb and dry bulb temperature readings.
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
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A pair I see a lot are "heating days" and "cooling days." What are these?
Heating days and cooling days refer to use of furnace/boiler or A/C. In NYC a landlord is required by law between Oct 1 and April 20th to provide heat any day the temperture falls below 55º at night.
if there is a late (or early) 'cold snap' (a cold night in late August--when the tempurature drops to 48 degrees- ) and the landlord doesn't have the boiler/furnace ready to provide heat (and doesn't have to!) He can not be fined. but come Oct, if there is no heat, he risks being fined in housing court, (a housing violation, get enough, and the city puts a lein on the property)
if Oct is unseasonable mild.. (and night time temps remain above 55º--) the land lord does not have to provide heat! (so a 58º--pretty cool) might result in a chilly apartment in the AM--no over night heat!--and again, no fine to landlord.
NYS has some energy rebate programs for the elderly, and some of these are also based on 'heating'/'cooling days'--
i don't particapate in these programs (STAR is the name of one as i recall) but these programs also use 'heating'/'cooling' day info.
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
I think your "heating days" and "cooling days" are a shortening of the terms "heating degree days" and "cooling degree days". Definitions:
Heating Degree Days
The cumulative number of degrees in a month or year by which the mean temperature falls below 18.3°C/65°F.
Cooling Degree Days
The cumulative number of degrees in a month or year by which the mean temperature is above 18.3°C/65°F.
These are from:
http://www.worldclimate.com/define.htm
Now, what does all this mean? See
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y1AB25218
TEd
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Helen, I remember that so well from my three years in Manhattan. But yes, what it turns out I was referring to is TEd's reply. I'm still confused, though: it seems like the terms are reversed! ~~~ Edit: I'll have a look at TEd's "what does it all mean?" link... shoulda done that to begin with. 
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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When it gets below 65° you turn the heat on, when it gets above 65° you turn the AC on., unless you live in Southern California in which case when it gets below 70° you turn the heat on and when it get above 60° you turn the AC on.
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
OK, thanks everybody. I *get it now!
Anybody else have any good weather terms to share? One I learned recently is virga. I like that one.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
I'll bet Bean knows some. Bean?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
I just love the sonerousness of the British sea areas, as used in the Shipping Forecast on Radio 4. Unfortunately, we have recently lost "Finisterre", which is now Frobisher, and heligoland, which has become something so unintersting that I can't even remember what it is! But we still have, Humber, Sole, Viking, Dogger - all in the North Sea, and Valencia and Mallin Head on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, and Iceland, faroes, North Uitzerer, South Uitzerer up in the North Atlantic. Oh! the romance of the sea!! 
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-four leagues.
IIRC
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