Help with averages

[freelander86]

Can someone help me with averages?!?

We record averages every month of temperatures. Is the 1 minute average taken from every minute day or night? And is the min/max average simply the highest temp against the lowest of the month?

It would seem that a very cold month with a spike or sudden high temp to falsify results... Presumably 1 minute average is therefore more popular??

TIA

F86

[steve]

We record averages every month of temperatures. Is the 1 minute average taken from every minute day or night? And is the min/max average simply the highest temp against the lowest of the month?

Yes, that's correct. Note that if the data comes from the logger, then it can't be every minute (with a Fine Offset) so each logger entry contributes N minutes to the 1-minute average.

It would seem that a very cold month with a spike or sudden high temp to falsify results... Presumably 1 minute average is therefore more popular??

In my opinion it gives a better figure. I guess the reason for the max-min average is that it's the best you can do with a manual setup if you only take readings once a day.

[serowe]

I guess the reason for the max-min average is that it's the best you can do with a manual setup if you only take readings once a day.

It's also the reason that you compare apples with apples and not oranges or lemons (as the case may be).

Once you start playing around with your own definitions (whether they be averages, minute amounts of rain or whatever) you completely divorce yourself from maintaining any credibility when any of your data is used elsewhere. This is one of the prime reasons member nations of the WMO have a set of standards which are very rarely altered - and, if they are, there has to be an overwhelming reason to do so.