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Ever wonder why the Herald does something? Or how? Or "what were they thinking?" Now you can find out. Executive Editor Ken Robertson and Managing Editor Rick Larson will do their best to explain what happens in the TCH newsroom - and why.
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Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2009

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When the numbers don’t add up

By Ken Robertson, Herald Executive Editor

Tri-City Herald readers are sticklers for detail as they pore over our weather page each day.

And on June 8, Barbara Wood couldn’t believe her eyes when she noted that day’s page reported 0.13 inch of rain had fallen so far in June.

After all, the June 7 weather page reported no measurable rain had fallen by that date, and the June 8 daily rainfall was only a trace.

So, she asked, just how did that .013 inch of rain suddenly appear?

Turns out there’s a logical answer, according to the meteorologists at Weather Central, which compiles our daily weather information.

To meet the Herald’s production deadlines, Weather Central each day sends a page full of information to us by about 7 p.m. That leaves about five evening hours in the day for rain to fall that goes unreported in the statistics for the next morning.

On the night in question, the 0.13 inch of rain fell apparently after the weather statistics were prepared. And just a trace fell after midnight.

Thus, the numbers do add up. But not without an explanation.

w Ken Robertson: 582-1520; krobertson@tricityherald.com

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