I N S T R U M E N T S

A weather instrument is any device that measures

w ea t h er- r el a t ed c o n d it io ns . S in c e t h er e a r e a w id e v a r iet y of
weather conditions that can be measured, there is a large
assortment of weather instruments available for many
different purposes.

T E M P E R AT U R E
a. Thermometer

An instrument for measuring

temperature.
It measures the temperature through a glass
tube sealed at both ends and is partly filled with a
liquid like mercury or alcohol, this certain liquid
expands or contracts as the temperature
changes—rises with high temperature and falls
with low temperature.
Since temperature is one of the important
variables of a weather condition, thermometers
plays a crucial role in the everyday measurement
of temperature and generally in knowing the
weather condition in our environment.

b. Maximum-Minimum Thermometer

A U-shaped weather instrument for

measuring the maximum and minimum
temperature throughout the day. It indicates the
current temperature along with the highest and
the lowest temperature of the day.
It indicates the current, maximum, and
minimum temperature through a U -shaped glass
filled with alcohol and mercury with two index
markers in both side of the U shape, one side
records the maximum temperature and another
one records the minimum temperature. The liquid
in it contracts and expands as the temperature
changes— as the temperature rises the alcohol
expands and pushes the mercury up the
maximum column, and as it falls the alcohol
contracts pulls the mercury up in the minimum
column. The steel indexes located on the surface
of mercury move along with the flow of mercury
up and down. When the temperature reaches its
maximum and minimum limits, the metal indexes
remain at that place.
This weather instrument is not just important
in knowing the current temperature but as well as
in recording the difference in temperature over a
period of time which is important in order to
know and calculate the range of temperature in
the day-to-day basis.

c. Thermograph

An instrument that records

air temperature continuously on graphing paper.
A sheet of graph paper is fastened on the
outside. A pen-point that rests on the paper traces
the temperature curve, according to the
expansion and contraction of a sensitive metallic
coil or strip corresponding to the reading of a
thermometer. Thermograph ’s shelter which has
double-louvered sides and a double-top roofing is
designed to permit air to circulate freely through
the shelter.
This instrument plays an important role in
recording and analyzing the air temperature
which is important in predicting and knowing
weather conditions.
I N S T R U M E N T S
AT M O S P H E R I C P R E S S U R E
Atmospheric pressure, or air pressure is the force exerted on a surface
by the air above it as gravity pulls it to Earth.

d. Mercurial Barometer

A type of barometer that uses mercury to

measure atmospheric pressure,
This instrument works by balancing the
weight of mercury in the glass tube against the
atmospheric pressure. Since atmospheric pressure
is the weight of air above the reservoir, the level
of mercury will continue to change until the
weight of mercury in the glass tube is exactly
equal to the weight of air above the reservoir.
Once the two are balanced and stopped
moving, the pressure is recorded by "reading" the
value at the mercury's height in the vertical
column—If the weight of mercury is less than the
atmospheric pressure, the mercury level in the
glass tube rises (high pressure), if the weight of
mercury is more than the atmospheric pressure,
the mercury level falls (low pressure).
It is important to use this instrument in order
to predict the weather condition and other
environmental phenomena that might happen in
our environment.

e. Aneroid Barometer

An instrument designed to measure

atmospheric pressure. Compared to mercurial
barometer, this weather instrument contains no
liquid, and this resembles a compass or clock
Aneroid Barometer works in a way that
inside of this is a small flexible metal box. Since
this box has had the air pumped out of it, small
changes in external air pressure cause its metal to
expand and contract. The expansion and
contraction movements drive mechanical levers
inside which move a needle. As these movements
drive the needle up or down around the
barometer face dial, the pressure change can now
be recorded. If it moves clockwise, up the dial; the
pressure is increasing. Contrastingly, if the needle
turns counterclockwise, the pressure is
decreasing .
This instrument is important in
determining if the weather condition will be
hotter and drier or colder and wetter.

f. Barograph

A recording barometer, it records the

atmospheric pressure by the pen point tracing the
pressure curve on the paper is made to move up
or down by means of a series of levers attached to
aneroid cells (metallic boxes) in tandem. It
uses aneroid cells in tandem in order to provide a
more pronounced response to changes in
atmospheric pressure than would be indicated by
a single aneroid cell of the same size.
Since atmospheric is one of the indicators of
weather condition, it is important to record these
data using this barograph in order to analyze
current weather conditions and predict future
weather conditions.
I N S T R U M E N T S
AT M O S P H E R I C H U M I D I T Y
Atmospheric Humidity is the amount of water vapor carried in the air.
It can be measured as vapor pressure, mixing ratio or specific humidity.

g. Sling Psychrometer

An instrument used to measure both the

dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures at time
which refers to the measurement of humidity
content in air .
To get the measurement of atmospheric
humidity using this instrument, first thing to do is
to wet the cloth cladding the wet -bulb . Next is
to whirl the psychrometer a few times, then read
the wet-bulb. Read the dry-bulb last. Normally,
the wet-bulb's reading will be lower than the
dry-bulb's. The dry-bulb reading is the air
temperature. The difference between the dry and
the wet-bulb readings will give, with the aid of a
psychrometric table, the dew point temperature
and the relative humidity.
It is important to measure the humidity
content because its presence indicates the
chance of dew, fog, or precipitation which are
some of the weather conditions that we
experiences and has a great effect in our daily
lives

h. Hygrometer

An instrument used in
meteorological science to measure the humidity,
or amount of water vapor in the air.
Digital hygrometers are the type of
hygrometer that is mostly used today. Measuring
the humidity through this is now very easy, it ’s
just important to place the instrument at about
3.3 feet (one meter) from the ground. Let the
device work for at least three minutes so it can
adequately detect the temperature of the air.
There is no need to do calculations anymore
because the instrument will do it already.
This is an important instrument in
checking the moisture especially in our homes,
since some of the appliances and furniture can be
a little bit vulnerable to change in humidity, with
this instrument, interventions and repairs can be
applied prior.

i. Hygrothermograph

An instrument that measures and records

both temperature and relative humidity,
simultaneously, onto a single chart.
It works the same manner as the
thermograph and barograph.
The record of the measurement of the
relative humidity that can be obtained from this
instrument is important in knowing the moisture
content of a place or environment as well as
predict certain phenomena such as fog, dew and
precipitation.
I N S T R U M E N T S
P R E C I P I TAT I O N
Precipitation is any form of water particles —liquid or solid—that falls
from the atmosphere and reaches the ground.

j. 8-inch Raingauge

An instrument used to measure the

amount of rainfall.
To measure the amount of rainfall
accumulated in the measuring tube, a thin
measuring stick with the magnified scale printed
on its face is used. The precisely dimensioned
measuring tube has a capacity representative of
only 2 inches on flat level ground. Rainfall
exceeding this amount spills into the overflow can
but can be easily measured by pouring it into the
measuring tube for total rainfall.
It is important to monitor the amount of
precipitation because rain water is one of the
needs of people to survive in life, this is true
especially to farmers, precipitation plays an
important role for the growth of crops that will
sustain life of billions of people.

k. Tipping Bucket Raingauge

Is a type of instrument used in recording

the amount of rainfall or precipitation.
It is an upright cylinder that has
funnel-shaped collector. The precipitation
collected by the collector empties into one side of
a "tipping bucket", an inverted triangular
contraption partitioned transversely at its center,
and is pivoted about a horizontal axis. Once one
compartment is filled with rain, it tips, spilling out
the water and placing the other half of the bucket
under the funnel. The tipping activates a mercury
switch causing an electrical current to move the
pen in the recorder. Each tipping is equal to
one-half millimeter of rainfall.
This instrument plays a vital role in
recognizing and analyzing weather patterns in
order to better prevent and prepare for
weather-related natural disasters. Through the
help of these kinds of instruments people will be
knowledgeable of certain weather events that
might happen and be able to act on it, such as
prevention of casualties and damage that a
certain natural disaster might cause.
I N S T R U M E N T S
SPECIAL INSTRUMENTS
l. Pilot Balloon/Theodolite

Is a meteorological balloon that is filled

with gas lighter than air. It is used to determine
the speed and direction of winds at different
levels of the atmosphere if used with a theodolite.
The theodolite is similar to an engineer's
transit. It consists of a sighting telescope
mounted so that it is free to rotate around a
horizontal and a vertical axis and has graduated
scales so that the angles of rotation maybe
measured while tracking the pilot balloon.
The elevation angles and azimuths of the
balloon are recorded from the theodolite and
these data at the end of the flight which may last
for more than an hour are plotted to a plotting
board. The wind speed and direction at selected
levels are calculated either by trigonometric
methods or graphical methods.
This instrument can also be used for night
observation of the atmosphere which is
accomplished by attaching a lit paper lantern to
the balloon.
m. Radiosonde

A device used to measure atmospheric

pressure, air temperature, water vapor (humidity)
and winds (speed and direction).
It is an atmospheric sensor that provide an
accurate, high-resolution description of the
Earth's atmosphere from the ground to 100,000
ft., it is carried into the air by latex weather
balloons filled with helium or hydrogen.
It is commonly used for synoptic
soundings, which are released once or twice a day
(at 00Z and 12Z) from fixed locations around the
globe. These soundings are carried out
simultaneously by national weather services
around the world to create a three-dimensional
picture of the Earth's atmosphere at one point in
time.
This instrument is very important in observing
changes in the atmosphere over time and in
becoming aware of present and future
phenomena that are important for the awareness
of everyone regarding the condition of the
atmosphere.

n. Rawinsonde

An electronic device used for measuring

wind velocity, pressure, temperature and humidity
aloft in the atmosphere.
This instrument works in a way that it is
also attached to a balloon and it rises through the
atmosphere and thus required measurements are
being recorded.
Wind velocity, pressure, temperature and
humidity in the atmosphere are also some of the
main factors that affects climatology, and this is
also something that we should be aware of in or-
der to detect and observe certain phenomena in
the atmosphere.
We need to know what is happening in
the entirety of the atmosphere because just like
the weather condition in the surface of our planet,
the weather condition in the atmosphere is also
one of the dynamic processes that affects the
weather that we are experiencing.
I N S T R U M E N T S
SPECIAL INSTRUMENTS
o. Rawin

An electronic device that measures

pressure, temperature and humidity.
It is a wind sounding of the atmosphere
made by tracking a balloon with radar in which
through this instrument air currents are being
observed using specially equipped balloons with
radar or radio transmissions.
Pressure, temperature, and humidity are
some of the factors that greatly affect the weather
condition of the atmosphere that also greatly
affects the weather condition at the surface of the
earth, thus it is important to monitor and observe
these factors.

p. Wind Finding Radar

An instrument used to determine the

speed and direction of winds aloft by means of
radar echoes.
This instrument works in a way that a
radar target which is attached to a balloon is the
one that is tracked by ground radar. The bearing
and time of interval of the echoes is evaluated by
a receiver.

q. Weather Surveillance Radar

A long range type instrument which

detects and tracks typhoons and cloud masses
at distance of 400 kilometers or less.
This radar works through a rotating antenna
disk preferably mounted on top of a building
free from any physical obstruction. Radio energy
emitted by the transmitter and focused by the
antenna shoots outward through the
atmosphere in a narrow beam. The cloud mass,
whether it is part of a typhoon or not, reflects a
small fraction of the energy back to the antenna.
This reflected energy is amplified and displayed
visually on a radar scope. The distance or slant
range of the target from the radar is determined
through the elapsed time the signal is
transmitted and then received as an echo. Its
direction is determined by the direction at
which the focused beam is pointing at the
instant the echo is received.
Since tropical cyclones are some
phenomena that we can ’t control, this
instrument plays a huge role in tracking and
monitoring tropical cyclones in order for us to
take preventive measures and to lessen the
casualties that this certain phenomenon might
cause to us and to our environment.

REFERENCE/S
Bagong PAGASA-DOST. Weather Instruments. Retrieved from http://
bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/learning -tools/weather-instruments
Ahrens, D. (2010). Essentials of Meteorology: An invitation to the Atmosphere .
6th Edition.

by:
HARLETTE A. LAGUIDAO
BSED SCIENCES 3A