<h1>That device only shows Fahrenheit</h1>
<p>I don't know about the full Weather Service, but that device only shows Fahrenheit measurements. You can see this in the <a href="https://www.weather.gov/media/ind/nimbus_manual.pdf" rel="noreferrer">user manual</a>, in the appendix, page 18
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/2oscM.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/2oscM.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-31T15:44:04.243Z
Excellent, here I'd thought that the [Nimbus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quidditch#Broomsticks) was a broomstick.
uhoh
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2019-01-31T22:21:46.027Z
I love the alternative way of getting to the answer, but the third line does say that °C is a factory option, so it is at least _conceivable_ it was showing Celsius.
TripeHound
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2019-01-31T22:22:45.397Z
The image actually shows the opposite of what you claim. It shows that it can be set of oC at the factory.
ikegami
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2019-01-31T23:18:51.270Z
@ikegami good catch!
uhoh
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2019-01-31T15:39:54.543Z
2019-01-31T18:22:33.773Z
2020-06-18T08:25:19.090Z
GPPK
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/NWSLaCrosse/status/1090571778139832320/photo/1" rel="noreferrer">This tweet</a> from the National Weather Service in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA says:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>We have officially hit -30 here at the NWS La Crosse office as of 520 a.m. The wind chill is -54. Be sure to dress appropriately if you're heading out for the day.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The photo shown below shows a digital readout of an electronic thermometer, showing -30.1 but has no units. The -30's are getting close to where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales tend to have similar numerical values, so there's no way to use context in this case to choose the most likely answer. No units are shown on the front panel, and <a href="https://www.weather.gov/media/box/coop/coop_nimbus_instructions.pdf" rel="noreferrer">these instructions</a> offer no help either.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FpOgz.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FpOgz.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

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2019-01-31T13:59:38.883Z
There is no such thing as "Centigrade"  It's "Celsius" .
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-31T14:44:32.890Z
@CarlWitthoft [Centigrade, a historical forerunner to the Celsius temperature scale, **synonymous in modern usage**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centigrade) also [The centigrade scale is essentially identical to the Celsius scale, the standard scale by which temperature is measured in most of the world.](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centigrade)
uhoh
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2019-01-31T15:51:39.323Z
All the weather forecast models that I know of in the NWS are run in degrees Kelvin and then the temperature is transform into either Fahrenheit or Celsius.
arkaia
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2019-01-31T17:25:19.583Z
@uhoh OK but the name "Celsius" was adopted more than 70 years ago.
David Richerby
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2019-02-01T01:26:47.217Z
Adopted more than 70 years ago? My elementary school teachers in the 1990s US must have missed the memo. It's still widely understood, at least in the US. Centigrade = Celsius; the big C.
Roddy of the Frozen Peas
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2019-02-01T01:32:06.497Z
@RoddyoftheFrozenPeas I wonder if a new question about that somewhere might be a good idea. I've seen some equivocation: [Did You Know?
The centigrade scale is ***essentially identical*** to the Celsius scale...](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centigrade) like they don't want to quite say it is *exactly equal to*. If they are both linear and share the same endpoints, I can't see how they couldn't be exactly equal. Why not ask? ("enquiring minds want to know!")
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T02:58:55.693Z
Guess it might be on topic at the history of science SE, if someone were interested. Unfortunately that would not include me.
Roddy of the Frozen Peas
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2019-02-01T03:11:17.233Z
@RoddyoftheFrozenPeas [When and how did usage of the term Centigrade give way to Celsius? Are/were they in fact numerically identical?](https://hsm.stackexchange.com/q/8266/3869) "But in his version, 100° marked the freezing point of water..." *Your peas used to freeze at a hundred degrees!*
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T06:46:11.877Z
@uhoh The tweet says that the wind chill is -54, and it's unlikely for the wind (even for the strong one) to lower the "feel-like" temperature by 24°C. On the other side, 24°F (about 13.3°C) difference is reasonable (but the wind still has to be quite strong).
trolley813
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2019-02-01T06:50:27.153Z
@trolley813 excellent, "science rules!"
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T08:47:10.507Z
@arkaia The readout definitely isn't in Kelvin.
Mast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T11:04:39.763Z
@RoddyoftheFrozenPeas FWIW, older folk in the UK will still use the term, though it's less common as age decreases
Lightness Races in Orbit
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-01T11:07:34.140Z
@gansub I thought Mast was being humorous; trolley813 made a deduction from the wind chill, so I thought Mast was taking "deductionism" a step beyond and remarking that it couldn't be Kelvin (simply because the number is negative).
uhoh
<meteorology><temperature>
Does the US National Weather Service use Celsius or Fahrenheit?
uhoh
# Does the US National Weather Service use Celsius or Fahrenheit?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-31)

[This tweet](https://twitter.com/NWSLaCrosse/status/1090571778139832320/photo/1) from the National Weather Service in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA says:

> We have officially hit -30 here at the NWS La Crosse office as of 520 a.m. The wind chill is -54. Be sure to dress appropriately if you're heading out for the day.

The photo shown below shows a digital readout of an electronic thermometer, showing -30.1 but has no units. The -30's are getting close to where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales tend to have similar numerical values, so there's no way to use context in this case to choose the most likely answer. No units are shown on the front panel, and [these instructions](https://www.weather.gov/media/box/coop/coop_nimbus_instructions.pdf) offer no help either.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/FpOgz.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/FpOgz.jpg)

**Tags:** meteorology, temperature

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There is no such thing as "Centigrade"  It's "Celsius" .  
> **username_0**: @username_1 [Centigrade, a historical forerunner to the Celsius temperature scale, **synonymous in modern usage**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centigrade) also [The centigrade scale is essentially identical to the Celsius scale, the standard scale by which temperature is measured in most of the world.](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centigrade)  
> **username_2**: All the weather forecast models that I know of in the NWS are run in degrees Kelvin and then the temperature is transform into either Fahrenheit or Celsius.  
> **username_3**: @username_0 OK but the name "Celsius" was adopted more than 70 years ago.  
> **username_4**: Adopted more than 70 years ago? My elementary school teachers in the 1990s US must have missed the memo. It's still widely understood, at least in the US. Centigrade = Celsius; the big C.  
> **username_0**: @username_4 I wonder if a new question about that somewhere might be a good idea. I've seen some equivocation: [Did You Know? The centigrade scale is ***essentially identical*** to the Celsius scale...](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centigrade) like they don't want to quite say it is *exactly equal to*. If they are both linear and share the same endpoints, I can't see how they couldn't be exactly equal. Why not ask? ("enquiring minds want to know!")  
> **username_4**: Guess it might be on topic at the history of science SE, if someone were interested. Unfortunately that would not include me.  
> **username_0**: @username_4 [When and how did usage of the term Centigrade give way to Celsius? Are/were they in fact numerically identical?](https://hsm.stackexchange.com/q/8266/3869) "But in his version, 100° marked the freezing point of water..." *Your username_4 used to freeze at a hundred degrees!*  
> **username_5**: @username_0 The tweet says that the wind chill is -54, and it's unlikely for the wind (even for the strong one) to lower the "feel-like" temperature by 24°C. On the other side, 24°F (about 13.3°C) difference is reasonable (but the wind still has to be quite strong).  
> **username_0**: @username_5 excellent, "science rules!"  
> **username_6**: @username_2 The readout definitely isn't in Kelvin.  
> **username_7**: @username_4 FWIW, older folk in the UK will still use the term, though it's less common as age decreases  
> **username_0**: @gansub I thought username_6 was being humorous; username_5 made a deduction from the wind chill, so I thought username_6 was taking "deductionism" a step beyond and remarking that it couldn't be Kelvin (simply because the number is negative).  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2019-01-31. Score: 15

# That device only shows Fahrenheit

I don't know about the full Weather Service, but that device only shows Fahrenheit measurements. You can see this in the [user manual](https://www.weather.gov/media/ind/nimbus_manual.pdf), in the appendix, page 18
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/2oscM.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/2oscM.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Excellent, here I'd thought that the [Nimbus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quidditch#Broomsticks) was a broomstick.  
> **username_9**: I love the alternative way of getting to the answer, but the third line does say that °C is a factory option, so it is at least _conceivable_ it was showing Celsius.  
> **username_10**: The image actually shows the opposite of what you claim. It shows that it can be set of oC at the factory.  
> **username_0**: @username_10 good catch!  

---

