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| Reasons for owning a weather station | Weather stations can be fun and educational, provide accurate local weather forecasts, can be incorporated into smart home technology, and satisfy curiosity about the weather. |
| Health Importance | Weather affects health in various ways. Weather stations can provide data such as barometric pressure, temperature, and winds, which are related to migraines, cardiovascular health, arthritis, heatstroke, respiratory illnesses, etc. |
| Benefits everyone | Farmers, travelers, homeowners, construction companies, engineers, golfers, hikers, campers, tourists, nature lovers, kids, drivers, swimmers, equestrians, first responders, researchers, trucking companies, marketing agencies, event organizers, and local and state agencies. |
| Contribution to weather networks | By sharing your weather data with weather networks, it improves weather prediction in your area. |
Reasons Why You Should Buy a Weather Station
To me having my own weather station is fun. I own a small ranch, so the weather station is also useful. You may find a weather station to be useful for something else you do, like gardening or beekeeping. If you have a weather station for your home that is connected to Weather Underground, then you can save all of the meteorological data online. You can then look up your historical weather data after you’ve been posting for a while. I have well over a decade of weather data to look back on. Interesting stuff!
Home weather stations are vital to people whose work or play is affected by the weather. Internet-connected weather stations are invaluable to meteorologists for local forecasting and climate predictions. The more weather stations in an area, the more data points are available to use, and the more accurate the forecast is.
Maybe you’re an outdoors person like a gardener, golfer, sailor, or shooting enthusiast. All of you would benefit from a weather station in different ways. Maybe you’re an event organizer who would benefit from knowing historical weather trends or a medical professional who would benefit by anticipating severe or dangerous weather events. So can you see the benefits? I hope you can.
A basic home weather station costs less than you might imagine. A good, simple station with the basic features can be purchased for under $150 and a top-of-the-line quality home weather station with all of the bells and whistles can be had for under $800. Most home weather stations run from $150 to $350. The better weather stations allow you to add sensors if you need them. Sensors like soil moisture, air quality, lightning detection, and more. How would a weather station help you?
Weather Stations are Fun!
Many people find owning a weather station to be fun. You may be a hobbyist, a storm chaser, or just someone who enjoys all the data collected by the station.
Since everyone talks about the weather these days, it is a great conversation piece. You’ll be the local weather guru.
Most people pay at least some attention to the weather. Some people are avid weather watchers, following the weather patterns of their hometown or checking the current weather right now and right where you live. Weather stations have been popular for ages because they provide an insight into what is happening in a particular area of the world at that given time.
There are many new ways to experience this fun hobby and one option is using an internet-enabled weather station and sending your weather information to a weather network.
I have a page here that compares the most popular AcuRite weather stations broken down by how they connect to the internet.
You can see your station report online from anywhere and also see the neighboring weather stations around you. You may be surprised who else is a weather enthusiast in your area. Many people find weather stations to be fun and interesting.
If you know weather stations are fun but you can’t use that to convince your significant other to spend the money, you’ll need an excuse. Read on…
What are Weather Stations Used For?
Home weather stations are often seen as a hobby or children’s toy, but they have many uses. They allow you to track the weather in your local area and check if there is any chance of rain coming up or other weather events.
Home weather stations are meant to inform. Many weather stations can be set up to send an alarm to your phone if certain weather conditions are met. This can also be very useful for monitoring a remote property.
Families with children or elderly people can benefit from a weather station because it can be set up to monitor the indoor temperature and humidity of their home. Some weather stations offer air quality sensors.
Not only do home weather stations provide you with a warning for when you need to start planning for potential rain or wind, but they are also used by weather station networks such as Weather Underground and other weather websites to provide more accurate weather reports. You can also use them to look at long-term trends in your region’s weather so that you know what to expect months down the line. Maybe you’ve caught the Weather-Bug and enjoy sharing your thoughts about it on social media or participating in one of the many online communities related to the weather? Well, now you can share your own personal weather station data with others around the world, too!
List of people who benefit from owning a weather station
- Farmers
- Travelers
- Homeowners
- Construction Companies
- Engineers
- Golfers
- Hikers
- Campers
- Tourists
- Nature Lovers
- Kids
- Drivers
- Swimmers
- Equestrians
- First Responders
- Researchers
- Trucking Companies
- Marketing Agencies
- Event Organizers
- Local and state agencies
Local Current Weather and Forecasts
You’ll find that the local weather forecast using your home weather station is more accurate than the regional or national weather forecast. TV and radio weather reports have to use data from various sources around the country, state, or region while your station is right there at home. There are good reasons to use your home weather station.
The most accurate source of local current weather data is from a weather station in your home. Have you heard of microclimates? A microclimate has weather conditions that are different from the surrounding area. For example, a home surrounded by trees will have a different microclimate than one surrounded by a grassy lawn or pavement. If a building or hill shelters your property in some direction, your weather will be different.
A small lake or reservoir can drastically affect the local weather. Being a few feet higher or lower than your neighbors will cause your weather to be different.
If your weather reports are coming from an airport miles away, the chances of the reports being accurate are low.
Take Advantage of Smart Home Technology
Many weather stations have smart home capabilities, like the ability to dim the light when you leave the room or switch on and off smart devices such as smart thermostats and sprinklers.
Smart homes can take advantage of weather stations to reduce energy costs. This can be set to alert you on your phone if a weather condition you set is reached.
The weather station with the most smart-home features that I know of is the WeatherFlow Tempest here on Amazon.
New Smart Home applications are being developed every day. So what’s next?
Weather Stations are Educational
Kids love learning about the weather and so do adults. The more they interact with a weather station, the more they learn about how weather works. Many stations have various educational features, such as showing temperature and location in a map view or offering graphs of rainfall by month.
Everyone benefits by knowing the local weather. The environment around you is affected by the weather, so knowing it will help you plan your day.
Satisfy Your Curiosity About the Weather
Was a new record high temperature, or a new rainfall record, or a new low temperature set near your area? How about in the region, state, or country? What was it like compared to last year and the average for the past few decades? Did anything notable happen in the weather recently, like a front passing through, or a severe wind gust?
Maybe the weather feels different to you in some way today; take a look at your weather station, and maybe you’ll see why.
Gain Weather Awareness
You start to be more aware of the weather conditions around you like a storm is brewing, there’s a chance of rain, or frost is coming soon. This allows you to plan the day ahead.
Eventually, you’ll be able to feel if the atmospheric pressure is changing faster than normal and you can look at your weather station to confirm. Little things that you may not have noticed before become more noticeable. For example, you may start to notice birds flocking together when a storm is coming in or how the wind changes throughout the day.
Or you may notice that you’re more aware of your surroundings, things you never noticed before you’re now paying attention to. You’re conscious of the weather and start to become more in tune with what is happening in the environment around you.
Benefits Gardeners
Weather stations are of great benefit to gardeners. While knowing the temperature and rainfall is great, additional sensors such as solar radiation, UV intensity, and soil moisture sensors are also useful to gardeners. By looking at the historical weather records over several years, you can better plan your plantings and harvests.
I recently bought an Ambient Weather WS-5000 station from Amazon that has lots of optional sensors. After I’ve run it for a while I’ll do a review.
If you’re just getting started, you can look online for a nearby weather station to use until you gather enough data of your own.
Benefits of Weather Stations to Pilots and Boaters
When you’re thinking about taking your plane out or heading out on the water with your boat, weather awareness is important. By having a weather station to monitor the forecast, you’ll know when it’s safe to take your plane or boat out. As fishermen know, fish act differently in certain weather conditions.
Golfers are especially affected by the weather, so a weather station is a great tool. The wind, temperature, and humidity are all important to golfers. But maybe most importantly, lightning detection. Many weather station models have lightning detection capabilities; golfers are better served by a portable lightning detector they can carry in their pockets.
Hunters can benefit from a portable weather station. When tracking or shooting, the wind direction plays an important role.
When a storm is approaching, hunters and hikers need to seek shelter or get off exposed areas quickly. Storm alert warnings can help save your life.
Snow skiers and snowboarders have an extra benefit of a weather station; avalanche alerts.
Medical uses
Different weather conditions are associated with heatstroke, frostbite, car accidents, and heart attacks. Awareness of the weather conditions helps medical professionals to prepare appropriately.
Knowing the weather conditions at your location can be beneficial to your health when you know you have sensitivity.
How Weather Affects Your Health
The weather has a direct effect on your health and well-being, for instance, barometric pressure is associated with not only migraine headaches but also affects arthritis sufferers.
Temperature is related to cardiovascular health, and humidity is linked to asthma.
High winds may increase the risk of heart problems and respiratory illnesses, while high temperatures are associated with heatstroke.
Certain named winds around the world are infamous for causing health and weather-related problems. They are sometimes referred to as ill winds. one such wind is the Santa Ana, which originates in the deserts east of California. It picks up high concentrations of dust, bacteria, pollen, and other allergens as it moves over the arid countryside. The Santa Ana has been linked to numerous health problems, including asthma, eye irritation, nosebleeds, and headaches.
A very useful measure of personal comfort is the dew point as it relates to the amount of moisture in the air. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air. When it is both humid and hot, the dew point is high and you can surely expect to sweat profusely and be very uncomfortable.
If the dew point is low, your sweat evaporates quickly and so you get a nice cooling effect. In fact, if the dew point is very low, you will not notice the sweating so you should watch out for dehydration.
One’s health may improve in dryer conditions, within limits.
Help the Network of Weather Stations by Contributing your Weather Data
When you upload your quality weather information to the weather station networks, that data is often shared with professional meteorologists and other agencies to improve the weather predictions in your area.
Many weather stations are capable of uploading your weather data to the internet. You’ll need a weather station that measures the main five weather data points at least. The weather data would include rainfall, outdoor temperature and humidity, wind speed, and direction.
Do the best you can to set up your weather station in the best place in terms of accuracy. Once you are all set up, it’s up to you to share this data with the world.
There are many weather websites that would love to have your weather information, especially if there are none or a few weather stations in your area. Most people start with Weather Underground as they made it very easy to do.
How do I share my weather station data?
You will need a weather station that is internet capable. You then have a choice of weather networks to connect your weather station to.
Weather Underground is far and away the easiest to get started with. Weather Underground is a free service that you can use to upload your data.
Most internet weather stations are set up to make connecting to Weather Underground very easy.
See this page for some of the best weather stations for Weather Underground.
Often the weather station manufacturer will have their own weather network, for instance, Davis Instruments, Ambient Weather, WeatherFlow, Bloomsky, and others.
Your weather data may also be used for other purposes. If you provide your weather station data to the public, it’s possible that the data could be used by scientists or meteorologists to create computer simulations of weather patterns or to monitor the development and change of weather patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of owning a weather station?
Accurate and real-time local weather data: Weather stations collect data on temperature, humidity, air pressure, rainfall, and wind, providing you with precise information about the weather conditions in your area.
Better planning for outdoor activities: A weather station can help you plan outdoor events, such as parties or trips, by providing accurate weather forecasts.
Gardening and agriculture: Weather stations can help you make informed decisions about planting, watering, and harvesting crops based on local weather conditions.
Educational opportunities: Weather stations can be used as educational tools for children, teaching them about weather patterns and data collection.
Energy savings: By monitoring indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidity levels, you can optimize your home’s heating and cooling systems, potentially saving energy and money.
How accurate are home weather stations?
Home weather stations can be extremely accurate when using proper equipment and installing it correctly. The accuracy of a weather station depends on factors such as the quality of the sensors, the frequency of data updates, and proper installation. Mid-range and high-end weather stations are typically more accurate than budget options.
What sensors are commonly found in weather stations?
Weather stations typically include sensors to measure various atmospheric variables, such as:
Temperature: Thermometers measure air temperature.
Humidity: Hygrometers measure relative humidity.
Atmospheric pressure: Barometers measure air pressure.
Rainfall: Rain gauges measure precipitation.
Wind speed and direction: Anemometers measure wind speed, and wind vanes measure wind direction.
Some advanced weather stations may also include sensors for solar radiation and visibility.
How do I maintain my weather station?
Regular maintenance is essential to ensure the accuracy and longevity of your weather station. Maintenance procedures include:
Inspecting sensors for cleanliness and proper functioning.
Cleaning solar panels that power the station’s battery.
Checking for debris in the rain gauge and ensuring the anemometer can rotate freely.
Always refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations and user manual for specific maintenance guidelines for your weather station.
How do I choose the right weather station for my needs?
When choosing a weather station, consider the following factors:
Accuracy: Look for a weather station with a reputation for accurate measurements.
Sensor types: Choose a weather station with the sensors you need to measure the weather variables most important to you.
Connectivity: Some weather stations can connect to your computer or mobile device, allowing you to access weather data remotely.
Price: Weather stations are available at various price points, so consider your budget and the features you need.
Ease of installation and maintenance: Look for a weather station that is easy to install and maintain.
By considering these factors, you can find a weather station that best suits your needs and provides accurate, reliable weather data.
Wrap Up
A weather station is capable of providing valuable information, especially if you live in an area where home weather stations are scarce and the weather is less predictable.
Some people may not be aware that their health could be affected by the unpredictable nature of the weather.
A good reason to buy a weather station would be to keep your property and family safe and healthy.
Many people need weather information to make decisions, such as farmers, people with outdoor activities, medical personnel, and many others.
Remember, that by sharing your weather data, you can help improve the weather predictions in your area and that helps you, your neighbors, and people who need long-term records for climate predictions.
You may find my page on the best weather station brands informative.
Have Fun!
Paul