What the heck is the temperature index?

Factual Questions
1

On the news I frequently hear them speak of the temperature index (IIRC) and then display a very large number (for degrees fahrenheit under the category of weather anyway).
e.g. 741

What does that mean? Does it tell the average moe like myself anything interesting?

2

Are you sure that’s not 74.1? Temperature index is what the temperature “really feels like” after taking windchill and humidity into account. The formulae are rather imprecise, since both effects vary from person to person, but the result should looks something like a reasonable temperature.

3

I’m pretty sure, though now you have me doubting myself. But I’ve been seeing it for years and have been puzzled by it for years on different news stations while living in different locations (and therefore likely using different fonts making it less likely that a young person with reasonably good vision like myself is simply missing the decimal point).

I’m pretty sure that they call it the temperature index but it, I think, is not a local figure. I forget which one but I think it is usually called the national or international temperature index. It is usually given in degrees F/degrees C (just a slash, not a fraction) and seems to always be displayed in large font covering a large portion of the TV screen.

Does anybody know what I’m talking about???

4

I believe the temperature index is expressed in degree*days and is a measure of how much and for how long the temperature has been above or below a standard temperature. This, in essence, is a measure of how much heating or cooling has been needed this season.

5

You’re not crazy, Moe. I have seen just such a thing on the ABC late-night news program, World News Now. It’s called the “National Temperature Index”. If I had to guess, I’d bet they sum the high temperature of several cities to obtain the figure. I found many unhelpful sites about it.

6

A degree day is a measure of the departure of the mean daily temperature above or below a given standard. A ten-degree difference for one day equals ten degree days, as does a one-degree difference for ten days.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/askjack/wagloindex.htm
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/intro/hansen.04/

7

Forgot this one: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/askjack/waskdays.htm

8

So it’s just a joke?!?!

It just never seemed to be delivered in a humorous way or anything. I guess because only the abc people are in on it.