Neighborhood microclimates

[Pee Dee Palms]

So, I went on a website today that gives the current ground temperature of the entire United States. I was looking around my hometown and noticed some interesting things. I looked at two neighborhoods that had strikingly different temperatures. One is slightly closer to the ocean but I think this has little to do with what I am seeing. If you look at these pictures, you can see that there is a bit of a warm bubble around the first neighborhood (Woodbury). Then, if you look at the second neighborhood (Carolina Forest), you'll see that there appears to be no additional heat floating around the air. For some reason, Woodbury is much more warmer than any of the other neighborhoods it's around. I can't seem to find any other neighborhoods that have the same effect, besides some that are directly on the ocean. What is causing this? As far as how the houses are built and everything like that, the neighborhoods are both very similar, any reason as to why Woodbury is warmer than the surrounding neighborhoods?

 

(The lighter the color, the warmer) (As you can see, the first picture has a lighter greyish color in the middle of the circle warmer, and the second has the red color cooler)

Edited May 28, 2022 by General Sylvester D. Palm

[kinzyjr]

It could be something as small as more cloud cover in one neighborhood than another.

[Pee Dee Palms]

33 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

It could be something as small as more cloud cover in one neighborhood than another.

On other days the first neighborhood would still be a bit warmer.

Edited May 28, 2022 by General Sylvester D. Palm

[Silas_Sancona]

Numerous factors including wind flow during various times of the day, how much green space / mature tree cover exists, slope the neighborhood might be on can influence neighborhood to neighborhood scale micro climates.. Tree canopy can keep wind above the ground, which then could either retain warmth or cool air longer then an area near by where there is less canopy to block wind. South or west facing slopes will generally be warmer than north facing ones. 

First neighborhood looks like it has numerous man made ponds ..which can also influence micro- scale temperature ( and humidity / dew points ).

[Pee Dee Palms]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Numerous factors including wind flow during various times of the day, how much green space / mature tree cover exists, slope the neighborhood might be on can influence neighborhood to neighborhood scale micro climates.. Tree canopy can keep wind above the ground, which then could either retain warmth or cool air longer then an area near by where there is less canopy to block wind. South or west facing slopes will generally be warmer than north facing ones. 

First neighborhood looks like it has numerous man made ponds ..which can also influence micro- scale temperature ( and humidity / dew points ).

What is sort of puzzling is the first one has ponds, but they aren't no where near as big as the other one's ponds. First neighborhood also seems to have the houses up a bit higher, which creates relatively steep slopes along people's property (according to Google Earth). There are also many more 2 story houses in the first/warmer neighborhood, while the second/cooler neighborhood has more 1 story homes. I also just checked the map and the first neighborhood is still warmer than the second, which means we can cross out cloud cover since it's night. Maybe I'll starting going to some of these neighborhoods to see what the differences are in terms of how the houses are built, tree canopy, etc.

[Pee Dee Palms]

This literally just hit me. The first neighborhood has a VERY active road that runs right through the middle, while the second one is secluded from any very active roads. Cars can put off quite a bit of heat, so this, along with the houses and other factors of the neighborhood, could be the reason why it is warmer.

[Silas_Sancona]

7 minutes ago, General Sylvester D. Palm said:

This literally just hit me. The first neighborhood has a VERY active road that runs right through the middle, while the second one is secluded from any very active roads. Cars can put off quite a bit of heat, so this, along with the houses and other factors of the neighborhood, could be the reason why it is warmer.

 High traffic vehicle exhaust might contribute a little extra heat, ..but not near enough to really effect the temperature too much. The extra Asphalt / Concrete?, compared to a less traveled neighborhood? esp. if tree canopy along the road is sparse or not well established along the busier road?  that can definitely contribute enough extra heat in a particular area.. 

Here, if the wind is blowing from the right direction, neighborhoods on the south / southeast side of a set of hills that separates Phoenix from some neighborhoods on the southern side can be hotter than phoenix due to downsloping on the southern facing side of those hills.. Air warms as it descends.   A similar Wx set up in the winter can keep those neighborhoods a tad warmer as well.  Very common micro climate influencer in California.
 
A similar, neighborhood to neighborhood variance in micro climate can be seen when looking over neighborhood Wx Underground stations also. 

Would be curious to see how the site you mention in the post measures temperature/ wind, etc.. 2 meters off the ground, or several.  Both can be important things to monitor.

[GottmitAlex]

4 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 High traffic vehicle exhaust might contribute a little extra heat, ..but not near enough to really effect the temperature too much. The extra Asphalt / Concrete?, compared to a less traveled neighborhood? esp. if tree canopy along the road is sparse or not well established along the busier road?  that can definitely contribute enough extra heat in a particular area.. 

Here, if the wind is blowing from the right direction, neighborhoods on the south / southeast side of a set of hills that separates Phoenix from some neighborhoods on the southern side can be hotter than phoenix due to downsloping on the southern facing side of those hills.. Air warms as it descends.   A similar Wx set up in the winter can keep those neighborhoods a tad warmer as well.  Very common micro climate influencer in California.
 
A similar, neighborhood to neighborhood variance in micro climate can be seen when looking over neighborhood Wx Underground stations also. 

Would be curious to see how the site you mention in the post measures temperature/ wind, etc.. 2 meters off the ground, or several.  Both can be important things to monitor.

So precise @Silas_Sancona

[Pee Dee Palms]

11 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 High traffic vehicle exhaust might contribute a little extra heat, ..but not near enough to really effect the temperature too much. The extra Asphalt / Concrete?, compared to a less traveled neighborhood? esp. if tree canopy along the road is sparse or not well established along the busier road?  that can definitely contribute enough extra heat in a particular area.. 

Here, if the wind is blowing from the right direction, neighborhoods on the south / southeast side of a set of hills that separates Phoenix from some neighborhoods on the southern side can be hotter than phoenix due to downsloping on the southern facing side of those hills.. Air warms as it descends.   A similar Wx set up in the winter can keep those neighborhoods a tad warmer as well.  Very common micro climate influencer in California.
 
A similar, neighborhood to neighborhood variance in micro climate can be seen when looking over neighborhood Wx Underground stations also. 

Would be curious to see how the site you mention in the post measures temperature/ wind, etc.. 2 meters off the ground, or several.  Both can be important things to monitor.

This is a very strange thing because overall, the neighborhoods don't seem that different. You could be right about the sloping thing, but here in the South we don't have hardly any slopes. Here is the busy road in the warmer neighborhood. There is a small section of it where there are trees, but the rest is nothing but berms. Maybe the berms come into play with how the wind flows and everything. I keep checking the map and the warmer neighborhood is still warmer. Which is odd considering it is only 10 and things haven't really been able to heat up. The whole thing is strange and doesn't really add up. 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by General Sylvester D. Palm

[Chester B]

16 hours ago, General Sylvester D. Palm said:

So, I went on a website today that gives the current ground temperature

This is one snap shot in time.   Check it for a month or a year you may see that those areas are regularly colder, or the same as the rest.  Even throughout any given day I'm sure it changes.  I wouldn't hold my breath on a map like this, too many variables.  Let's say it was taken the day of a strong thunderstorm, you would most likely see warmer areas ahead of the storm and the areas behind much colder, too many things to consider.