Science/Weather question

[cottonmama]

I don't know where else to ask this.  But if there are icicles hanging down from my trees, but my outdoor thermometer says 35 degrees, is my thermometer wrong, or is there something like cooling-by-evaporation contributing to the formation of ice in above-freezing temps?

 

It's fairly overcast here, so I don't think the sun could have warmed the sensor up that much if it's really 32 here.

[MEmama]

Nm

Edited January 20, 2016 by MEmama

[regentrude]

Is the ice actually forming now, or is it just not melting?

 

You can have quite a bit of temperature variation. Sun vs shade. Close to warm ground vs in cold air. We have a heat pump for heating that cools the surrounding air, so around the compressor it's a few degrees colder.

[cottonmama]

I don't remember the exact temperatures throughout the day, but I believe it's been above freezing (on that thermometer, at least) since the precipitation started.  Sleet or freezing rain, then rain, and as it was raining I noticed the icicles develop.  They definitely developed while the reading was in the 34-35 degree range.  I feel like this is the kind of weather you see when it's hovering around 32 plus or minus a degree, which is why I'm so confused.

Edited January 21, 2016 by cottonmama