WILKES-BARRE -- Monday was the first day of Tom Clark's forecasted heat wave and when it's as hot as it was outside, people tend to check the temperature a lot.
But that doesn't mean the thermometers we read are always right.
We asked Newswatch 16 Chief Meteorologist Tom Clark to help us put the different readings on thermometers in their place.
Whether we drive, walk, or sit by them, we all see them: those glaring digital thermometers reminding us just how hot it is outside.
We checked Ryan Wills' phone on Market Street in Wilkes-Barre near the sign outside the M&T Bank. Her phone kept going back and forth between 88 and 90 degrees.
"So when you see that sign that says 'it's 94, but it feels like 100 outside."
So which is right? Well Newswatch 16 Chief Meteorologist Tom Clark says the bank thermometers often read 2 to 8 degrees higher than the actual temperature.
"That's because most bank thermometers are installed or located near or above asphalt parking lots, which radiate tremendous amounts of heat," Tom said.
We checked two digital signs at the Citizens bank And the Walgreens at Kingston Corners, but one of them appeared to be broken altogether
The sign at the Citizens Bank read 91 degrees, but if you come across the street to the Walgreens, the sign here says 77. It seems hard to believe that just across the street, it's 14 degrees cooler.
It seems that most people rely on other forms of technology to get an accurate temperature.
"I usually go on my computer and see what the temperature is. That's pretty accurate," said Anthony Maglioli of Pringle.
"I trust my phone more than anything."
"The one says 77. The other one says 91. But it's definitely hot out here. I know that much."
So, the moral of the story is when it's this hot outside, it doesn't really matter how hot it is, just that it's hot.
However, Tom Clark did say that the readings on our phones are likely the most accurate because they rely on the readings that the National Weather Service uses.
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