The Serial Correlations of Daily Mean Temperatures at Kew Observatory

Abstract

 A study is made of the correlation between the daily mean temperature at Kew on each calendar day of the year with the temperature on each of the seven following days. It appears that the level of the correlations varies with the time of year. For any particular season the correlation decreases as the separation between the dates is increased, but generally remains positive for separations of up to seven days. The correlations are used to suggest a division of the year into natural seasons. Regression equations are given to enable the temperature on any day to be predicted in terms of those of the preceding days.