More about ICT and the Weather

This page gives some more information about the more complicated digital weather stations. It also gives more examples of how ICT can help with weather activities.

When you have finished reading about this you may want to return to the ICT and the Weather page or the Collecting Data page.

Weather data

Weather data can be sorted and shared using ICT. Many websites allow you to find data from locations round the world. Some even have weather data going back several years. To see how to access some of this data look on the weblinks page at Weather Underground.

Multimedia

Digital information in various forms help us to learn about how to monitor the weather. Video clips, sounds and animations all can give us information in a way we can understand easily. The video clip on the right shows how to reset the minimum. Compare it to the text on the More About Temperature page. Which do you find more helpful?

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Webcams

If you want to know what the weather is like in another place an interesting way of doing it is to look at webcams. Even if the webcam is being used to look at something like a birds nest, you can still see the weather there.
NB. You must use webcams with care. Only use ones from a trusted site, and if possible view them with adult supervision.

Portable Sensing

Another example of the type of portable sensing devices that can be used to take weather readings will be provided soon.

 

Remote Wind Readings

This display unit shows some of the weather readings using dials. The data is collected from the unit on the roof. It is important that the anemometer is place high up and clear of anything that might block the wind.
On this device the topmost part is a mini weather vane with a sail and a pointer. It reacts to wind direction. Below it are the cups which capture the wind to record its speed. The box near the anemometer houses the thermometer. The readings are sent to the display unit through a cable.
The left hand dial shows wind direction and the middle dial shows wind strength. The dial on the right shows air pressure. It is fun to see the readings so clearly displayed in the sitting room. This is an 'Atmos' unit from Instromet Ltd.

Remote Readings

The Davis VantagePro2 weather station was described in ICT and the Weather. These pictures show the other parts to this system.
This console is situated in the sitting room. It means that the readings can be easily viewed. You can see the aerial for receiving the signal from the wind monitoring device and the main weather station unit. Another receiver plugs into the computer for data saving and analysis.
The anemometer on the right is powered by a solar panel on the white box. The aerial on the white box sends the signal to the two receivers. The wind spins the cups and the speed that they rotate gives the wind strength. The sail helps the pointer monitor where the wind is coming from.