Minus zero

[Playbill]

I have an air band radio tuned into a local airport control tower for weather information. Several times recently the temperature has been given as 'minus zero'.

As temperatures are always given in whole numbers (no half degrees) I would have thought the first temperature figure below zero would be 'minus 1'.

Can any mathematician/pilot/meteorologist explain minus zero in this context?

[lady_p_gold]

I am sure someone will answer as I don't know but there was this exchange a while back on AB and one of the people replying offered an explanation re ice, so maybe that would be relevant for a plane taking off ????

www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Science/Question185752.html

[Playbill]

Thanks lady-p-gold there are some interesting and conflicting answers there.

[fo3nix]

I believe the answers given by myself and Peter in that link above are correct.

[Playbill]

You and Peter may be correct fo3nix, but they refer to readings from a computer. The information I hear is being spoken by a human voice over the radio.

Or am I being a bit naive thinking he or she gets the information from a thermometer nailed to the wall outside the control tower?

[fo3nix]

I assume they get the reading from a computer, and just read it out loud.

[qapmoc]

This is usually done when only whole numbers are used

-0 will mean somewhere between -1 and 0

0 will mean somewhere between 0 and +1

[gpbutler]

To avoid any confusion with mishearing one-zero,two-zero or three-zero, and to emphasise that it is a freezing temperature.

[Playbill]

This makes sense gpbutler as other numerical information is given in a clear, precise way e.g.127.24 is given as '127 decimal 24' .

Thanks to all the others who posted answers.

.