Fresno Chooses Violence Every Day With Its Temperature Readings

I tend to nerd out more on the weather the older I get. Especially when it’s hot. I don’t understand the nerding, it’s just happening to me and you’re here to witness it.

I think it’s because the heat is part of Fresno’s personality. Just talking about hotness is boring on the surface, but when you dig deeper it’s kinda interesting. Like Fresno.

In this past few years of nerding-out about the Fresno heat, I have kept my eye on the various temps around the city.

Fresno doesn’t have just one temperature.

It is different throughout. It is rare when there is a same temperature in Fig Garden as there is in West Fresno. Or NE Fresno compared to Sunnyside.

I don’t know why. Either it is geographically setup to be hotter or the equipment at the airport taking the readings is calibrated badly, but the airport is consistently hotter.

The hottest area of Fresno, nearly EVERY day.

Sadly, this is where the definitive reading for Fresno is taken and then given out to the world. Fresno’s temperature of record is always its worst.

It’s bad marketing. This must be changed.

As an example, I have three different devices at my house (nerd alert!) that have outside temp readings. As I write this, two say it is 103, one says 104. The Fresno Airport reading is 108.

If you are in Chicago right now looking at temps around the country, Fresno would read 108 and not 104.

(I know, some of you don’t think there is a difference but there is and that’s not the point right now.)

It’s Baked Into Us As Fresnans

I get why Fresno would want to present itself to the world in the worst possible way. I hate myself too sometimes.

It’s secretly one of the things I love about this city; everyone sees us at our worst (heat & crime) and we’re like “Yeah? Fucking deal with it. If you can’t handle us at our worst than eat shit – or something like that.”

But maybe we can change this ONE thing? There could be days our high could read 98 instead of 102. Or 87 instead of 90. Sounds and feels better, yeah?

We don’t need to cheat either. Just take our official reading from a place in Fresno NOT the airport.

Scout an area that is the middle ground.

You can pick a City Of Fresno property. Like, a water-well site in an area of Fresno that consistently reads a lower-to-average example of Fresno’s temperature.

I mean is there some state law that says to pick the hottest area of town or something? Can’t Kopi step in here and tell Fresno to have a Great Day somewhere else?

Are you listening Weather Service in Hanford? Do you give a damn, City of Fresno?

With all the power invested in me as the City Blogger, I propose we use a different location for our temperature reading. The current one causes us too much heat.