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Weather station

 
Weather Station

 
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A weather station is a facility with instruments and equipment to make observations of atmospheric
Earth's atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and trace amounts of other gases....
 conditions in order to provide information to make weather forecasts
Weather forecasting

Bold text'Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the Earth's atmosphere for a future time and a given location....
 and to study the weather
Weather

Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
 and climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
. The measurements taken include temperature
Temperature

In physics, temperature is a physical property of a Physical system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the greater temperature....
, barometric pressure, humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
, wind speed
Wind speed

Wind speed is the speed of wind, the movement of air or other gases in an atmosphere. It is a scalar quantity, the magnitude of the Vector of motion....
, wind direction
Wind direction

Wind direction is the Direction from which a wind originates. It is usually reported in cardinal directions or in azimuth degrees.There are a variety of instruments used to measure wind direction, such as the windsock and Weather vane....
, and precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
 amounts. Wind measurements are taken as free of other obstructions as possible, while temperature and humidity measurements are kept free from direct solar radiation, or insolation
Insolation

Insolation is a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a given time. It is commonly expressed as average irradiance in watts per square meter or kilowatt-hours per square meter per day ....
.






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Encyclopedia


A weather station is a facility with instruments and equipment to make observations of atmospheric
Earth's atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and trace amounts of other gases....
 conditions in order to provide information to make weather forecasts
Weather forecasting

Bold text'Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the Earth's atmosphere for a future time and a given location....
 and to study the weather
Weather

Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
 and climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
. The measurements taken include temperature
Temperature

In physics, temperature is a physical property of a Physical system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the greater temperature....
, barometric pressure, humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
, wind speed
Wind speed

Wind speed is the speed of wind, the movement of air or other gases in an atmosphere. It is a scalar quantity, the magnitude of the Vector of motion....
, wind direction
Wind direction

Wind direction is the Direction from which a wind originates. It is usually reported in cardinal directions or in azimuth degrees.There are a variety of instruments used to measure wind direction, such as the windsock and Weather vane....
, and precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
 amounts. Wind measurements are taken as free of other obstructions as possible, while temperature and humidity measurements are kept free from direct solar radiation, or insolation
Insolation

Insolation is a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a given time. It is commonly expressed as average irradiance in watts per square meter or kilowatt-hours per square meter per day ....
. Manual observations are taken at least once daily, while automated observations are taken at least once an hour.

Instruments

Weather Station Usda
Typical weather stations have the following instruments:
  • Thermometer
    Thermometer

    The thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles; it comes from the Greek language roots thermo, heat, and meter, to measure....
     for measuring temperature
  • Barometer
    Barometer

    A barometer is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. It can measure the pressure exerted by the atmosphere by using water, air, or mercury ....
     for measuring barometric pressure/air pressure
  • Hygrometer
    Hygrometer

    Hygrometers are instruments used for measuring relative humidity. A simple form of a hygrometer is specifically known as a psychrometer and consists of two thermometers, one of which includes a dry bulb and the other of which includes a bulb that is kept wet to measure wet-bulb temperature....
     for measuring humidity
  • Anemometer
    Anemometer

    An anemometer is a device that is used for measuring wind speed, and is one instrument used in a weather station. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind....
     for measuring wind speed
  • Wind vane
    Weather vane

    A weather vane, also known as a wind vane or weathercock, is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. Although partly functional, weather vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional chicken design with letters indicating the points of the compass....
     for measuring wind direction
  • Rain gauge
    Rain gauge

    A rain gauge is a type of instrument used by Meteorology and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time....
     for measuring precipitation

Exposure

Except for those instruments requiring direct exposure to the elements (anemometer
Anemometer

An anemometer is a device that is used for measuring wind speed, and is one instrument used in a weather station. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind....
, rain gauge
Rain gauge

A rain gauge is a type of instrument used by Meteorology and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time....
), the instruments should be sheltered in a vented box, usually a Stevenson screen
Stevenson screen

A Stevenson screen or instrument shelter is a screen to shield meteorological instruments against Precipitation and direct heat radiation from outside sources, while still allowing air to circulate freely around them....
, to keep direct sunlight off the thermometer
Thermometer

The thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles; it comes from the Greek language roots thermo, heat, and meter, to measure....
 and wind off the hygrometer
Hygrometer

Hygrometers are instruments used for measuring relative humidity. A simple form of a hygrometer is specifically known as a psychrometer and consists of two thermometers, one of which includes a dry bulb and the other of which includes a bulb that is kept wet to measure wet-bulb temperature....
. The instrumentation may be specialized to allow for periodic recording otherwise significant manual labour is required for record keeping. Automatic transmission of data, in a format such as METAR
METAR

METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by Aviators in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by Meteorologys, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
, is also desirable as many weather station's data is required for weather forecasting
Weather forecasting

Bold text'Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the Earth's atmosphere for a future time and a given location....
.

Daily observation times


Historically readings were taken by weather observers who were typically not paid and performed the duty as part of their permanent jobs (e.g., postmaster
Postmaster

Postmaster refers to the head of an individual post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization , the title of Postmaster General is commonly used....
). These weather readings were taken between 7 and 9 a.m. local time daily as unpaid observers were unwilling to take readings from midnight to midnight. Since the advent of automatic weather station
Automatic weather station

An automatic weather station is an automated version of the traditional weather station, either to save human labour or to enable measurements from remote areas....
s, such as automated airport weather station
Automated airport weather station

Automated airport weather stations are automated sensor suites which are designed to serve aviation and meteorology observing needs for safe and efficient aviation operations and weather forecasting....
s and personal weather station
Personal weather station

File:Davis VantagePro.jpgA personal weather station is a set of weather measuring instruments operated by a private individual, club, association, or even business ....
s, surface weather observation
Surface weather observation

Surface weather observations are the fundamental data used for safety as well as climatology reasons to weather forecasting and issue warnings worldwide....
s are taken on an hourly (or more frequent) basis.

Networks

A variety of weather station networks have been set up globally. Some of these are basic to analyzing weather fronts and pressure systems, such as the synoptic observation network, while others are more regional in nature.

Global

  • Citizen Weather Observer Program
    Citizen Weather Observer Program

    The Citizen Weather Observer Program allows users with computerized weather stations to send their information via a website to be included into the United States Mesonet....
  • Weather Underground Personal Weather Stations


United States

  • Arizona Meteorological Network (AZMET)
  • Central Pennsylvania Volunteer Weather Station Network
  • Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN)
  • Georgia Environmental Monitoring Network (GAEMN)
  • Indiana Purdue Automated Agricultural Weather Station Network (PAAWS)
  • MesoWest
  • Michigan Automated Weather Network (MAWN)
  • Missouri Weather Stations
  • National Weather Service
    National Weather Service

    The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States Federal government of the United States....
     Cooperative Observer Program
  • Oklahoma Mesonet
  • The Pacific Northwest Cooperative Agricultural Weather Network
  • WeatherBug


Southern Hemisphere

  • Antarctic Automatic Weather Stations Project
  • Australia/Bureau of Meteorology AWS network.
  • Australia/Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia
  • Australia/Lower Murray Water Automatic Weather Station Network


See also

  • Global Telecommunications System
    Global telecommunications system

    The Global Telecommunications System is a global network for the transmission of meteorology data from weather stations, satellites and numerical weather prediction centres....
  • Weather buoy
    Weather buoy

    Weather buoys are instruments which collect weather and ocean data within the world's oceans. They measure parameters such as air temperature at the ocean surface, water temperature, wave height, dominant wave period, barometric pressure, wind speed , and wind direction....
  • Weather satellite
    Weather satellite

    A weather satellite is a type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be either polar orbiting, seeing the same swath of the Earth every 12 hours, or geostationary, hovering over the same spot on Earth by orbiting over the equator while moving at the speed of the Earth's rotation....
  • Weather ship
    Weather ship

    A weather ship is a ship stationed in mid-ocean to make meteorological observations for weather forecasting. Since the 1960s this role has been largely superseded by satellites, long range aircraft and weather buoys....


External links

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