Hey, Matt:

In the summer my thermometer in the open sun reads 110 to 120 degrees while the news reports 90 to 100. How do they get such low readings? Do they put their thermometers in the shade? Doesn't that distort the true outside temperature? Working in the yard, I'm feeling 120 degrees and it doesn't make me feel better knowing it's 98 in the shade.

Jerry, Santee

Guess the microclimate concept hasn't filtered out to Santee yet. Watch San Diego's weather map and note the variety of temps displayed, all created by our mixed-bag ocean-desert-mountain-valley terrain. But the basic answer to your question is that San Diego's official National Weather Service temperature is taken at Lindbergh Field. What does Lindbergh have that Santee doesn't? Where to begin? Cool bay/ocean breezes for one. Santee, well known as the sweat pit of the county, will always be 20 degrees warmer than official San Diego. Of course, the Convention and Visitors Bureau loves it because our official temp will always look moderate and alluring to the rest of the nation, whatever the season, since Lindbergh's numbers are always tempered by the ocean. No one should ever know what the real temperature is in Santee, and I suggest that you get rid of that thermometer immediately. Is it of the rectal variety, by the way?