While summertime brings long, lazy days, it can also bring unpredictable weather that makes planning your favorite activities difficult. Nothing is more disappointing than anticipating a picnic, hike, or day at the beach only to have it rudely interrupted by a thunderstorm!
And even though nobody wants to begin thinking about the inevitable cold days, still months ahead, winter weather can be just as disruptive to your plans.
As a survivor of Atlanta’s 2014 “Snowmagedden” and after a 7-hour commute home, I concluded that relying on weather reports from local TV stations may not always be the best way to monitor your weather.
Become Your Own Weatherman
Today’s home weather stations are a remarkably accurate and reliable way to stay up to date on current weather conditions. Some models incorporate more sophisticated sensors and include the National Weather Service feed or crowd-sourced reports to provide better forecasting capabilities.
If you own vacation or rental property distant from your home, a professional or high-precision weather station is a superb way to stay informed regarding severe weather forecasts.
From farmers to weather enthusiasts (we won’t say nerds), depending on your purpose for monitoring weather conditions from home, there are a variety of options for the type and model best suited for your needs.
A Weather Station is a Weather Station…Right?
Not really. The difference between types of weather stations is fairly dramatic and clear-cut. This is a quick break-down of weather station types.
Personal Weather Stations
Also called Home Weather Stations, these can range from very simple indoor comfort monitors to much more complex stations with enough bells and whistles to satisfy the true weather bug.
Stand-Alone Temperature and Humidity Monitors provide basic readings of indoor conditions and display this information digitally.
- Indoor Temperature and Humidity
- Time
The Acu-Rite Hygrometer/Thermometer also comes with an external sensor for monitoring specific spaces like terrariums.
Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Stations go a step further and use remote monitors to provide outdoor conditions.
- Indoor Temperature & Humidity
- Outdoor Temperature & Humidity
- Daily Minimum and Maximum Temperature Recorded
- Moon Phase
- Time
This Acu-Rite Remote Thermometer/Hygrometer has a remote sensor you position outside and displays real-time information on the digital or color station inside.
Complete Wireless Weather Stations are even more comprehensive, designed for weather enthusiasts. Information is displayed on a colorful LED screen and has forecasting capability based on local conditions and NWS feed. Some provide extreme temperature alerts. Indoor & Outdoor Temperature and Humidity.
- Daily Minimum and Maximum Temperature Recorded
- Barometric pressure
- Dew point
- Heat index
- Mold Risk
- Wind speed & direction
- Precipitation
- Moon phase
- Atomic clock
Professional Weather Stations
These stations either come with extra sensors or have them available for purchasing separately. With Wi-Fi capability, a professional weather station can access additional resources like the National Weather Service (NWS) and crowdsourced weather resources to increase accuracy in forecasting.
These stations are designed to meet meteorological standards and are tough enough to withstand more severe weather. In addition to the information home weather stations include, these collect and use more data to inform and predict weather.
- Temperature records for daily high & low data
- High and Low records that include a time stamp
- Prevailing Wind Direction
- Current and Top Wind Speed
- NIST Time and Date
- Chance of Precipitation with rain data history and time stamp
- “Feels Like” temperature for Heat Index & Wind Chill
- Outdoor Trend Indicators
High-Precision Weather Stations
These weather stations provide the highest accuracy, are NIST traceable, and come with a precision certificate. They are Wi-Fi enabled and provide all the information of a professional station plus more. This kind of weather station has the highest quality sensors, construction, and accuracy and will cost you a pretty penny for it.
- Pressure Graph
- Rainfall Rate
- Evaporation Rate
- UV
- Solar Radiation
Accuracy is the Point
The basic question of course is, “Are home weather stations accurate?” Well, forecasting is only as good as the information it’s based on.
Almost all personal weather stations are fairly accurate for relaying current conditions with regard to temperature and humidity and use remote sensors to gather info literally in your backyard. Operating with margins of error, the accuracy of individual stations may vary; however, most fall within these ranges.
- Temperature Accuracy: +/- 2 to 4° F
- Relative Humidity Accuracy: +/- 3 –to 5 %
- Wind Speed Accuracy: +/- 2 to 5 mph, with accuracy decreasing as wind speed increases
- Rain Gauge Accuracy: +/-.05 inches per inch
Weather stations that are Wi-Fi enabled include access to additional sources of data which enrich the accuracy of information about current conditions, historical data, and forecasts used for predicting local weather.
Data Sources
In addition to the information gathered by your remote sensors, two sources of data that increase forecast accuracy are the National Weather Service (NWS) data and crowdsourced networks such as Wunderground, BloomSky, and AccUcast (from AccuWeather) which collect data from users of devices and/or apps to gather real-time information. This is then relayed and used to predict local weather and is displayed via their proprietary product—usually a smart phone app.
How to Choose?
It really depends on just how much information you want to have, how accurate you need forecasting to be, and how much money you’re willing to part with. A full on professional or high-precision weather station that can be Wi-Fi connected to remote properties is invaluable in the case of severe weather conditions. Or you may be a home weather buff who's looking for real-time information without having to wade through the fluff that’s sometimes a part of TV weather reporting.
Decide how much money you’re willing to spend and what the purpose is for your weather station. Then compare for features, durability, and accuracy before buying. If you need some help in your decision-making, our knowledgeable and friendly staff is ready to assist you. Give them a call at 800-934-9194. Share your photos and experience with weather stations with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.
