A diagnosis of twentieth century temperature records at West Lafayette, Indiana

Abstract

A diagnostic study of 80 yrs(1901–80) of surface temperatures collected at West Lafayette, Indiana, has been found to be in tune with the global trend and that for the eastern two-thirds of the United States, namely, cold at the turn of the century, warming up to about 1940, and then cooling to present. The study was divided into two cold periods (1901–18, 1947–80) and a warm period (1919–46), based on the distribution of annual mean temperature. Decadal mean annual temperatures ranged from 10 °C in period I to 12.2 °C in period II, to 9.4 °C during the present cold period. Themean annual temperature for the 80 yr ranged from the coldest of 8.7 °C in 1979 to the warmest of 13.6 °C in 1939. Thedaily mean temperature for the entire 80-yr ranged from -4.7 °C on 31 January to 25.1 °C on 27 July. Thecoldest daily mean was -26.7 °C on 17 January, 1977, and thewarmest daily mean was 35 °C on 14 July, 1936. The range of values for thedaily mean maximum temperatures was -.2 °C on 31 January to 31.4 °C on 27 July. Corresponding values for thedaily mean minimum are -9.2 °C on 31 January and 18.7 °C on 27 July. The all-time extreme temperatures are -30.6 °C on 26 February, 1963 and 43.9 °C on 14 July, 1936.