Please refer back to my first post for site specifications.
Remember Streaky Bay? Here’s another station caught in the act of moving.
Station: Barraba 54003
Opened: 1881
Daily Temperature data from: 1966
Data used to adjust Acorn sites at: Inverell
Location: Co-ordinates -30.3833 150.6083
About 400km north-west of Sydney.
But the screen doesn’t appear in that photo- where is it?
600 metres up Clifton Lane to the north:
Sometime before May 2019 (but after July 2018) the station was moved to a more open site. Here’s the old site plan:
Oh dear, what a poor, neglected weather station, littered with old cable reels and other unwanted rubbish, close to buildings and a laneway, surrounded by long grass, beside a wooden paling fence and near a gravel driveway. At last the Bureau has got around to moving it.
This station was not compliant, but temperatures were reported at Latest Weather Observations and used to adjust data at Acorn sites. It is in a better position now, but still beside a dirt road.
FAIL
Tags: Acorn, adjustments, Australia, bom, temperature, weather
kenskingdom 
August 30, 2019 at 3:45 pm
Ken, Is there a photo of the new site for this BOM weather station ?
And given that the old site was not compliant, surely the new site 600 meters away should have been allocated a new BOM number.
As for it being used to adjust ACORN weather stations elsewhere ???? Seems like the BOM is again proving incompetent ..
Wilipedia has an interesting comment about the BOM weather station at Barabra : “The weather station at Barraba Post Office was opened firstly as a rain reporting station in March 1881.[17] It became a full weather station in March 1966, with readings made by a human observer.[17] The position of the weather station behind the post office may have led to incorrect weather data.”
(Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barraba,_New_South_Wales . )
Looking at the BOM pdf cited by Wikipedia for that comment, I notice that there was an incinerator close to the Stevenson screen at the old site in Feb 2000.
Ohhhhh Dear !.. But they did get around to moving the station 18 years alter !
Click to access IDCJMD0040.054003.SiteInfo.pdf
August 30, 2019 at 3:57 pm
No, I don’t have an up to date photo, unless someone can find one. It was just a vacant bit of land back in 2008 and doesn’t seem to have changed. The station hadn’t moved there when the aerial/ satellite photo was taken earlier this year.
August 30, 2019 at 3:58 pm
2010.
August 31, 2019 at 3:19 am
Ken, I was alerted by Bill over at JoNo’s site.As indicated there I will be passing through town o Monday. Will convey pics by phone. Will contact you soon.i
August 31, 2019 at 6:15 am
Ta muchly.
September 2, 2019 at 2:15 pm
I will delay my trip to Barraba until Wednesday. The most convenient way of taking photographs is by my smartphone. What address should I send it to? Reply to my email. Thanks.
August 30, 2019 at 4:49 pm
I suggest that we post at Jo Nova sking if anyone lives in that neck of the woods.. Maybe we could them get some photos ?
And Off topic : Tony Heller has posted BOM’s temp records for Richmond Qld. I used Google earth to look at the site. But nothing was visible at all..Though the station is indeed still open on BOM Climate Data web site..
Could it have been moved but the move not noticed or recorded by BOM ?
August 30, 2019 at 5:36 pm
No idea re Richmond. Won’t get onto Qld for a week or two the way NSW is going.
August 30, 2019 at 9:51 pm
Bill,
no need to push Ken. He is shooting the fish(brains) in a barrel now; fastest way to a bag.
I must say that this series has been an eye opener; I knew there were problems with temperatures being adjusted, but the level of plain incompetence and unreliability of the claimed figures is obvious.
But how to get our politicians and the MSM to admit to the problem?
August 31, 2019 at 12:18 am
Thanks Graeme. I’m sure if Ken feels I am pushing him, he will let me know.
My method is slightly different to Ken’s but supportive. Ken is examining each BOM station in terms of whether it meets the BOM’s own guidelines.
Usually I check out the background features and look for other background information about the area where the site is. Eg the size of the town or population etc.
With Barabra we have a BOM station which has been moved at some point (Not documented by BOM ) And no recent photo of that new site. That was why I posted on Jonova asking if anyone there lived in the vicinity. Lots of JoNova folk seem to be country based folk. So there is a chance someone can do it. And that would clarify the status of the Barabra BOM station.
I’m gradually coming to the realisation that this is a huge job. My own hunch is that any one who can help complete the task would be welcome. Provided they are able to understand the data and how it is used by BOM. And provided they can let Ken set the pace & the agenda.
August 31, 2019 at 2:29 am
Perhaps we need a citizen survey effort as was done by Anthony Watts.
Someone with more knowledge than I would need to run it, though to ensure the correct info is collected and standards are met (unlike the BOM, apparently).
September 7, 2019 at 8:18 am
I observed the two sites at Barraba on Wednesday 4th September and found the new site as marked at Clifton Lane.A fit for purpose Stevenson screen in an open paddock with open views and no obstructions. The suspicion I have is with the old site,which looks quite new and and functioning.There is anew fence but there is bituminous gravel surrounding the unit. I would be satisfied if I knew BoM was using the new one at Clifton solely- but I’ve seen their ways too often for my liking.
September 7, 2019 at 12:00 pm
Thanks for that Glen. Did you take any photo’s ? of the new site ?
The BOM may be keeping both sites at Barabra going so there is an overlap of observations from both. This would allow the BOM to check things.
The fact that there is bituminous gravel surrounding the screen at the old site, is reason enough for it to be non compliant with BOM’s guidelines.
September 7, 2019 at 4:22 pm
Glen sent me some photos, I will show them on Monday (probably).