Temperature: latitude vs. time of day

[hotdogPi]

It's 4 PM, and you're driving due south (or as close as possible) on a freeway, e.g. Toledo to Cincinnati. On average, will the temperature get warmer from getting closer to the equator, or will it get colder from becoming nighttime?

[kalvado]

It's 4 PM, and you're driving due south (or as close as possible) on a freeway, e.g. Toledo to Cincinnati. On average, will the temperature get warmer from getting closer to the equator, or will it get colder from becoming nighttime?

Not sure about that road, but try driving from Flagstaff to Phoenix...

[Truvelo]

You'd have to drive a lot further than staying within Ohio for the distance to the equator to take effect. If you could take a flight from Toledo to Orlando departing at 4pm then the temperature in Orlando when you land will likely be higher than it was in Toledo when you boarded.

There are many variables to consider such as weather and the time of year. The position of the jet stream will also be a big factor.

[webny99]

Definitely colder because it's nighttime --- although the nighttime low in Cincinnati might be higher than it is in Toledo. That is, it might get colder at a slightly slower rate than it would if you just stayed in Toledo.



I enjoy theoreticals like these - I've often thought about leaving home at sunrise and driving in the direction of the sunset all day - how much more daylight could you get out of the same day?

Also, if you left on a ~westbound flight at sunrise, could the flight - if there were flights this long - make it around the entire globe before sunset?

What route/direction would you have to travel, depending on season, to experience the least variation in temperature as possible over 24 hours, or more?
What is the optimum leave-time?

[jeffandnicole]

Eliminating a whole bunch of variables (mainly, weather conditions and altitude) and simply focusing on distance vs. sunlight, it'll probably get a bit colder, but not considerably so.

If sky conditions remain constant the entire time, it'll get a bit chillier on a clear night, and very little temperature change on a cloudy night.

[kalvado]

I enjoy theoreticals like these - I've often thought about leaving home at sunrise and driving in the direction of the sunset all day - how much more daylight could you get out of the same day?

Consider I-90. Driving from Boston to Buffalo - 6.5 hour trip will give you 33 minutes extra.
Continue to Cleveland for a 10 hour trip and gain another 7 minutes (should be more, I would think).

[vdeane]

Of course, it isn't exactly straight.

For fun, I decided to try Jacksonville to Houston on I-10, which is pretty straight, and takes about 12 hours, so it should be a good average day length.  Using the sunrise/sunset time on September 21, the sun would rise at 7:14 AM EDT and set at 7:19 PM CDT (vs 7:24 PM EDT for Jacksonville), nearly an hour extra daylight.

[kphoger]

Depends on DST.

[webny99]

Depends on DST.

In case you couldn't tell, I was headed in that direction... 

[webny99]

Of course, it isn't exactly straight.

For fun, I decided to try Jacksonville to Houston on I-10, which is pretty straight, and takes about 12 hours, so it should be a good average day length.  Using the sunrise/sunset time on September 21, the sun would rise at 7:14 AM EDT and set at 7:19 PM CDT (vs 7:24 PM EDT for Jacksonville), nearly an hour extra daylight.

Something like Boston to Detroit, OTOH, captures the extremes within a single time zone, making the benefits easier to realize.

[vdeane]

Depends on DST.

In case you couldn't tell, I was headed in that direction... 

Except the total amount of sunlight in a day isn't affected by DST.

[webny99]

Depends on DST.

In case you couldn't tell, I was headed in that direction... 

Except the total amount of sunlight in a day isn't affected by DST.

Yeah, I know that --- just that it was me that brought sunlight into the thread (both literally and figuratively, I'm sure )

[nexus73]

On the Oregon coast you can have a calendar day where 4 AM is warmer than 4 PM.  What causes this are weather systems coming out of the south in the late fall and winter seasons.  They are warmish but can cool down over the course of several hours. 

Rick