Paul Versailles of Imperial Beach saw something on the Weather page that baffled him. “OK, I didn’t know who else to direct this question to, so you became my victim,” he said in an e-mail.
Versailles wanted to know why, under precipitation, it said the figures were “in inches, midnight to 4 p.m. yesterday.”
“Does this mean that it could conceivably pour from 4 p.m. to midnight every day, but you would reflect that no rain had fallen?” Versailles asked. Shouldn’t the rainfall figure reflect a 24-hour period as does the temperature reading that runs directly above, he asked.
I couldn’t answer the question about why The San Diego Union-Tribune reported rainfall for a 16-hour period on its Weather page, so I went to staff members who handle it. They were as baffled as I.
Marianne Williams, who coordinates the Weather page for the Union-Tribune, saw yet another flaw in reporting totals for a 16-hour period. “In Wednesday’s paper, the monthly total (for rainfall) was 7.13 inches. In Thursday’s paper, we showed .11 of an inch of precipitation. If you add 7.13 inches and .11 of an inch, you get 7.24 inches. Yet, we have 7.31 inches as the monthly total. So anyone keeping track using our figures would believe that the total should be 7.24 inches instead of 7.31.”
Nancy Wyld, senior editor for operations, also said reporting 24-hour figures would make more sense. So, why was the Union-Tribune reporting 16-hour figures under precipitation?
After chatting with Richard Stitt of the National Weather Service and officials from AccuWeather, the service that puts together the hundreds of pieces of data that make up the Weather page, I had an answer of sorts.
San Diego is one of the few places that takes weather measurements, both temperatures and rainfall, at 4 p.m. each day. That’s because many of the official weather stations are at fire stations. In many other cities, the weather readings reflect a 24-hour period ending at midnight.
I suppose the thinking that resulted in reporting rainfall for a 16-hour period made sense when the decision was made. I suspect that the idea was not to mix the rainfall from two different days. But, Versailles’ inquiry shows just how confusing that is, and a change has been made.
As of Friday, the precipitation figures under the Almanac began reflecting a 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. the previous day, the same as the temperature figures.
If it rained yesterday, that means the precipitation figures you see under Almanac on the Weather page today are for a 24-hour period that ended at 4 p.m. yesterday. If it rained between 4 p.m. and midnight yesterday, any measurable rainfall will be reported on the Weather page tomorrow.
If you have access to the Internet and want to check on more up-to-date weather figures, you might go to www.wrh.noaa.gov/san diego. The site includes unofficial weather stations.
Reporters, who go to the National Weather Service for information when writing news stories about the weather, may include rainfall figures that are more up-to-date than the figure on the Weather page. It’s an inconsistency, but it’s a reporter’s job to get the most up-to-date information available. The National Weather Service has rainfall figures for Lindbergh on an hour-to-hour basis.
That means you shouldn’t be surprised if the 24-hour rainfall figure on the Weather page does not match the rainfall figure in a news story on another page. It’s going to happen.
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Weather aficionados may have noticed additional cities were added to the “Global roundup” listing as of last Tuesday. The additional cities are Baghdad; Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar and Johannesburg.
Richard Atchison of Solana Beach was among readers who suggested adding Baghdad to the listing “for the duration of our troops being in the war zone.” He suggested dropping Oslo and Winnipeg if necessary, joking “I don’t know anybody who knows anybody in those cities.”
The additions were made without having to drop any city from the listing, including Olso and Winnipeg, as I’m sure people who have families and friends there will be happy to see.
But, what’s interesting is that there is enough room to add two more cities to the Global roundup. That’s where you, readers, may help. If you have a suggestion for two cities you would like to see included in the mix, please send me your nominations. The catch is that you have to tell me why in a paragraph or two. I’ll turn over your suggestions to editors who will make the final determination. It’s not a popularity contest, but I’ll include some of your suggestions and reasons in a future column.
Send your nominations to me at the e-mail or street address below. You may also fax your suggestions to (619) 293-1896. I look forward to reading them.
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Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619) 293-1525. Send e-mail to: readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
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