Weather Station

· Used to collect information about weather

·   They have sensors to measure:

o      when it rains, the amount of rain,

o      the temperature

o      the wind speed, wind direction

·       All information is collected using a computer which communicates using a telephone network

·       Computer collects all the information and records it on a backing storage. It is an example of data logging

·      Computer may communicate very infrequently with the weather station, perhaps once or twice a year

·                     Weather stations are simply just a group of sensors that provide information

·                     Other sensors may provide information on different conditions for example:

·                                     Sensors on icebergs can give scientists information on how they are formed.

·                                       Underground sensors can record information about earthquakes.

·                                       Sensors on space vehicles can provide the type of atmosphere on different planets

In the UK there are hundreds of weather measurement stations dotted around the country. These are manned by both volunteers and professionals who diligently note down certain measurements twice a day.

The stations contain calibrated thermometers with an audit trail right back the national standards laboratory. Along with other measurement devices (as said before)

Every day, the measurements are sent to the 'Met Office' who collate the data and begin the task of making a forecast.

Weather forecasting

·   Tries to predict weather conditions by measuring and observing the current weather around the world.

·   All information gets collected and supplied to the supercomputer

·   Weather forecasting on a global scale uses balloons with instruments that are similar to the weather station but are slightly more complex. And they use satellites orbiting high above earth which allow meteorologists to observe the clouds across the globe.

But people are also very interested in the likely weather in their locality. For this level of detail, local radio stations will broadcast information and there are web sites and portals that show local weather conditions by entering a post code.

Smart phone weather 'apps' are also available that download the latest forecast in your area.

Holiday destinations such as Ski resorts report up to the minute data that includes temperature, wind speed, visibility, snow cover, likelihood of snow.