I loved science when I was a kid - still do, as a matter of fact. I loved doing science projects for school, and one of my favorite projects was to construct a homemade weather station. It was mostly made from things you might find around the house: knocked-together wooden planks, milk cartons, nails. But I had a blast making it, and learned a lot from the whole experience. As a result I have always had a fondness for Meteorology - the study of weather patterns. So, when I turn the pages of my local hobbyist catalog, I am transported to that earlier time, when with a few boards and nails in hand, I constructed a weather station and filled it with equipment that I largely made myself. It was crude, not fancy, but in most cases it worked with a fair degree of accuracy - and I learned so much from my experience that I decided to write this article to share some of my insights with you. There are 2 ways to approach this: You can either construct a shelter and place your weather detection equipment inside it, which will require you to go outside to take readings, or you can set up a home weather station that will allow you to get readings while you are inside. If you decide to go the old-fashioned route, and go outside to take your readings, then you will need to make sure that you buy equipment that can stand the rigors of outside weather - because not all equipment can. You will also need to put that equipment someplace, and that means building a shelter to keep everything in. The shelter will allow the instrumentation to function out-of-doors, while providing some protection for it as well. On the other hand, you can purchase equipment for your home weather station that will let you stay indoors (at least most of the time). Typically, the 'business end' of the equipment will be mounted somewhere outside, and then wires will connect it to the read-out display panel indoors. Some equipment made today is wireless - eliminating the need to run cables or drill holes in your house walls to run it inside. If you are just getting started, you will want to invest in the following instruments: rainfall indicator, barometric pressure gauge, wind direction and speed indicator, and humidity gauge. Some of these are sold as an integrated weather workstation unit, with an indoor 'dashboard' that will give you your equipment readouts. As your skill and knowledge grow, you can invest in more advanced instrumentation, such as a thermo-hygrometer (it measures humidity and temperature, giving you a 'heat index'), or a baro-hygrometer (which measures humidity and barometric pressure). Most home weather forecasters find that the wireless equipment is easier to install and maintain, but the downside is that they cost a lot more than the hard-wired equipment. In addition, there are some die-hard fans of the old equipment that feel that the hard-wired models give a more accurate reading, but that is disputed by others. In general, however, this equipment is not cheap. So if the kids have been nagging you about purchasing a home weather station, make sure that they are really going to follow-through on this hobby before you spend the bucks. Once your home weather station is up and running, you will find it a pleasant hobby for yourself, as well as an educational experience for your children, especially older-age boys. I wish you happy forecasting!
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I loved science when I was a kid - still do, as a matter of fact. I loved doing science projects for school, and one of my favorite projects was to construct a homemade weather station. It was mostly made from things you might find around the house: knocked-together wooden planks, milk cartons, nails. But I had a blast making it, and learned a lot from the whole experience. As a result I have always had a fondness for Meteorology - the study of weather patterns.
About the author: Kelly Gillis wants you to enjoy your backyard. To learn about how to build a pergola and home weather stations visit her site. You can get a unique content version of this article.
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