Weather station siting.

[RathmoreWeather]

[Mod note (gabba) - this post originally appeared under the topic "Weather station siting. Aercus WS3083 Professional Wireless Weather Station" and has been moved to create a new topic]

 Hi there,

This is the station we are looking to buy to start off with, so it's good to see it commented upon so favourably :-)  When it comes to positioning a weather station, what should a newbie be taking into account? We live on a fairly exposed hilltop and get knocked around from some fairly full-on Norwesters.

Thanks in advance.

• Tweet

[gabba]

Hi

It really all depends on how keen you are. There are official guidelines available from various places online, but in many urban areas it's just not possible to site everything properly.

I also get a lot of wind from the nor west. A blow we would notice  for us would be 70 to 80 kph. A good nor wester will bring anything between 90 and 105 kph max gust.

As wind is our thing here I don't mind siting my station in a way that maximizes the ability to measure that, at the expense of some of the other measurements. Often it really is a matter of compromise.

Hopefully someone can offer up a link to the official requirements

[JennyLeez]

Gabba that reminded me I had this from the Metservice UK.
Maybe of some use to have a read Mrs RathmoreWeather
I will paste it in plus add attachment for further links.
Cheers
Temperature
The usual problem with temperature measurements is too much shelter from the wind, and
not enough from the sun and rain. The thermometer is best deployed in a well-designed
screen, which is in an open area away from buildings or hedges etc. When this is not
possible, make sure that the thermometer is not exposed to direct sunlight, and is away from
any walls that could be heated.
Wind
It is very difficult to find a good location for an anemometer, as the ideal site has no
significant obstructions for hundreds of metres around. The exact requirement for the wind
measurement may also dictate the chosen location for the anemometer. Where possible
choose an open site, if necessary at roof-top, and measure the height of the anemometer
above ground. If the data is requested, quote this height and any other information that may
be useful, such as the height of the building, location of nearby trees or obstructions, etc.
DO NOT correct the observations to the standard height of ten metres.
Rain
As with wind, shelter is a key problem. In particular try and make sure that there are no
significant obstructions in the direction of the prevailing wind. An obstruction is usually
significant if it is higher than half the distance between it and the rain gauge.
Pressure
There are not usually significant problems with measuring pressure, however in some
circumstances the readings may be affected by gusts of wind.
Humidity
If you measure humidity, do not be surprised if there is an error of 5% or more. Maintaining a
sensor in calibration is difficult, and in most cases an accuracy of better than 5% is not
critical, or even achievable. Many sensors that measure humidity directly are not user
adjustable, but you can get something of a check on a very foggy day with above freezing
temperatures, when you should record around 95 to 100%.

http://nzpws.net/nzwn/help/weather-station-setting-up.pdf

[PaulMy]

Here is a USA based link that may also be helpful http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/epz/mesonet/CWOP-Siting.pdf

Paul

[RathmoreWeather]

Thanks for posting this for me Gabba  Some helpful info here which is really appreciated.

At the moment, it seems that the best place is up high and well away from our shelter belt and our coloursteel house. On top of a boundary fence would mean that the wind would be more or less un-hindered as the station would then have a line of sight all the way to the peak of Aoraki some 2.5 hours drive away. The key I guess will be in securing it properly, as the higher the pole the harder it is going to be to keep secure.