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 I am so pleased when I turn the pages of my science and hobbyist catalogs and see the fine equipment that is being made today - it incorporates technology way beyond anything I could have imagined as a boy! I decided to sit down and write this article to help you understand what you might need if you too wanted to set up a home weather station.
Let me simplify this a bit for you. You only have 2 choices: you can go outside to take your weather instrument readings or you can stay inside and take your readings off of a display panel. All weather forecasting equipment will let you do one or the other. You must make your choice.
If you want to go outside to take your readings (the old-fashioned method), then you will need to make sure that your instruments can be completely stored outdoors (not all models can). You will also need to locate your equipment in some sort of a shelter - typically made of wood or metal, with louvered vents. And of course, you will be forced to go outside - even when it's cold and rainy - to take each day's reading.
On the other hand you can purchase equipment for your home weather station that has an indoor and an outdoor component. The indoor component contains the dials and screens and other components that give you the reading - the rest stays outside, connected by a cable (or via a wireless transmission) to your inside display instrumentation.
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!
