Here's the latest from the Idsos RAW cherry picking..
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USHCN Temperature Record of the Week: Wells, Nevada

To bolster our claim that "There Has Been No Net Global Warming
for the Past 70 Years," each week we highlight the temperature
record of one of the 1221 U.S. Historical Climatology Network
(USHCN) stations from 1930-2000.

This issue's temperature record of the week is from Wells,
Nevada. During the period of most significant greenhouse gas
buildup over the past century, i.e., 1930 and onward, Wells' mean
annual temperature has experienced no net change. Not much
global warming here!

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Wells Nevada, 41.12N, 114.97W, 1722m (5630 ft.) elevation

Annual trend: 0.00 deg F/dec with only 60 of 71 years available
Missing 1930, 321,32,33,34,35,36,37,38, 39 and 1972

Winter trend: +0.03 deg F/dec with 60 years available
Spring trend: +0.13 deg F/dec with 61 years available
Summer trend : -0.12 deg F/dec with 62 years available
Winter trend: -0.12 deg F/dec with 62 years available

There is a big blank in the Wells, NV data. From 1880 thru 2000,
the Idsos data set shows that there are 87 years of annual data
out of 121 years possible. There is a big gap between 1916 and
1940. Although the Idsos show some data for 1939, their annual
data begins in 1940 and that year exhibits a large spike in
temperature.

The station history data to 1995 indicates that there was no data
between 1916 and October 1934, at which time an individual is
listed as observer. The location given is about 1 block north
from the post office, which is likely located in the middle of
town along the downtown "strip", which was the main highway.

Wells is located at the intersection of 3 railroads, the Union
Pacific, the Southern Pacific and the Western Pacific. There is a
rail yard just one block to the north of the main drag and the
early observer was probably located near there. That observer
continued until 1947, when the station was moved to a local
power company site, also near the downtown industrial area. The
site was moved again in 1962, and remained at that site until Feb
1986. The next move placed the observer about 0.5 miles south of
the post office, away from the rail yard and the commercial area
along the main drag. At some time, the main highway was replaced
with a bypass as Interstate 80 was built just south of town. The
last station location would appear to be near I-80. The town is
located at the north end of a valley which sits between two large
mountain ridges with about 5 miles of "mountain valley" drainage
going northwards toward town. The ridges to the southwest are in
the Humbolt National Forest and have peak elevations between 10,000
and 11,000 feet, around 5,000 feet above the town. The ridges to
the southeast are a lower, at around 8,000 feet.

I submit that the early locations near "downtown" followed by
later locations farther out represent a reverse "heat island"
effect. The warming seen in Winter and Spring might represent
the real changes over the period, as mountain winds in winter
would tend to keep temperatures nearly the same at all locations
in the area. In Summer and Fall, the "heat island" of the
railroad yard and commercial district might dominate the
readings, thus the later move away could produce a cooling bias.
During the 1940-2000 period, the data were recorded in late
afternoon, thus there is no time of day bias.

It would be of interest to know what the Idsos did with the data
between 1934 and 1939. Since I can't access to the NCDC raw
data, I'm at a loss on that one.

--
Eric Swanson --- E-mail address: e_swanson(at)skybest.com :-)
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