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Air Temperature at Poughkeepsie

Level 1
Hudson River Ecology
An example of aspirated shields protecting sensors that continuously record weather data, including air temperature. Credit: Vicky Kelly

Poughkeepsie Annual Mean Air Temperature

You can also explore this dataset on TUVA, an interactive graphing platform.

Background

Global warming and climate change are, literally, hot topics. We often see articles about climate change making headlines around the world. We know that a change in temperature of six degrees can have major effects on our ecosystems. So, it's interesting to look at climate data to see what trends and/or comparisons we can observe.

Looking at air temperature records can tell us about the climate of a certain location. In this case, we are looking at Poughkeepsie, a city in the Hudson Valley that is located right near the Hudson River. We have provided data for annual mean air temperature, maximum annual average air temperature, and minimum annual average air temperature.

We have also provided the annual air temperature deviation from the average. This can help you ask some specific questions about air temperature. For example, was it hotter or colder than average in 1997? To answer, you would look at the air temperature deviation in 1997. If the deviation is greater than 0, the annual air temperature was above average. If the deviation is less than 0, the annual air temperature was below average.

Additional Resources

We also have a related lesson on climate change and rising temperatures in the Hudson Valley, which you may wish to complete before using this dataset.

Data Sampling & Compilation

These data were collected daily by the United States Historical Climatology Network. The data were then averaged to create daily and monthly means.

We encourage you to look at all of the data files to come up with other ideas. Do you want to look at trends across all of the given years or only a select few? Are you interested in comparing Poughkeepsie to another location in New York or the United States? Finally, you may want to ask how might changing temperatures in Poughkeepsie affect other aspects of the environment?

Data Source: United States Historical Climatology Network (1889-2005) & David Seekell via USGS (YR 2006-2012; COOP 306820)