Heat ‘em up, revised

what she meant to say

I am eternally grateful for those who read this column.

I am especially appreciative of those who know what I meant to say but mangled in my delivery. What I would give if I did not mangle, but some readers certainly help me convey my thoughts better than I do.

In preparing this morning’s column, “Heat ‘em”, I did actually use Dr. Google on the question of Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion.

I actually consulted the fine Dr. twice; both times, I knew the answer I got was wrong, but I was so intent on getting my ideas on the page that I forgot to return to figuring out why the number 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 degrees Celsius was far too high.

As a mentor of decades gently reminded me in a follow-up note, I left you hanging with an inflated number that I forgot to correct.

I……got…too…absorbed…in…the overall…message…rather than exploring why I was getting what I knew immediately was too high a result.

Thank you, Dr. Wayne Selcher, Professor Emeritus of Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. I am so privileged that you read my stuff.

What I neglected to do was correct for the difference, asking Dr. Google for the Fahrenheit value of 6 degrees Centigrade on a thermometer. Guess what that number is?

42.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

What I was seeking, because we learned it in elementary school—but forgot to double back to—was what the Fahrenheit increase in temperature is for 6 degrees Celsius, which is the outlying number the BBC graphic (and the accompanying report I heard yesterday) provides as a higher temperature being registered in the Pacific Ocean off the South American coast.

The answer to this last question is 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit, so my paragraph should have read.

“According to the BBC yesterday (and they are only one of several outlets commenting on this phenomenon, but they have the most accessible graphics), climate scientists anticipate waters warmed as much as 6 degrees centigrade (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above average. The label “Super El Niño” is cropping up as a harbinger of what we may confront as warmer waters create stronger winds that swirl in unexpected places.”

I stand by the assessment that there is a significant difference projected for later this fall from what scientists measure on average, but I failed to provide you with the exact number.

I wasn’t trying to inflate the number, but I didn’t ask the right question to get the number.

I apologize to readers. I am so thankful when someone points out my error(s).

Thanks, Wayne, for your appropriate revision, which forced me to renew a decades-old introduction to one of the most relevant equations in daily use.°F=°C×1.8 + 32

Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit

(courtesy of © CalculatorSoup)

Keep those cards, letters, and corrections coming my way.

When your instinct knows something is off, don’t wait to fix it (she says).

Be well and be safe. FIN