Heat Island of the Akron Canton Regional Airport, Ohio

Air temperatures measured by the National Weather Service at rural airports may not represent the temperatures of the surrounding rural areas because of extensive paved surfaces, buildings, sparse vegetation, and the flow of surface traffic at the airport. These factors may cause the presence of a heat island which is generally an urban phenomenon. The temperature and wind of the Akron-Canton Airport and eight nearby rural sites was studied between December 1987 and October 1988. The results showed that the airport was a heat island for 83% of the calm, clear evenings. An airport heat island did not exist under cloudy or windy conditions. Hence, the airport temperature is not representative of the local rural temperature under calm, clear conditions.