What are Weather Instruments?

Weather instruments are the tools and pieces of equipment

that are used to measure the weather and track data from
weather patterns over time. Scientists and meteorologists
use weather instruments in order to understand the
Earth's weather and climate patterns. Since there are a
wide variety of weather conditions that can be measured,
there is a large assortment of weather instruments
available for many different purposes. You may already be
familiar with common weather instruments, like
thermometers and wind vanes. But to get the full picture of
the weather around us, we need hygrometers,
anemometers, barometers, rain gauges and sometimes
even lightning detectors. Multiple weather instruments are
often combined into a single product, known as a weather
station. By integrating multiple environmental
measurement tools and a barometer, weather stations can
give you a thorough view of the conditions outdoors and
also generate reliable weather forecasts.

How do we Measure Weather?

We measure the weather using a range of weather instruments.
We can use these weather instruments to measure things like
temperature, precipitation levels, wind direction, wind speed,
and atmospheric pressure.

Typical instruments
Weather stations typically have these following instruments:

• Thermometer for measuring air and sea surface temperature

• Barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure
• Hygrometer for measuring humidity
• Anemometer for measuring wind speed
• Pyranometer for measuring solar radiation
• Rain gauge for measuring liquid precipitation over a set period of time
• Wind sock for measuring general wind speed and wind direction
• Wind vane (also called a weather vane or a weathercock) for showing
the wind direction
• Present Weather/Precipitation Identification Sensor for identifying
falling precipitation
• Disdrometer for measuring drop size distribution
• Transmissometer for measuring visibility
• Ceilometer for measuring cloud ceiling

Weather thermometer
What is a weather thermometer?

A thermometer is an instrument used for measuring and

indicating temperature, so, a weather thermometer is used to
measure the temperature outside at any given time. A weather
thermometer will tell you how hot or cold it is.

A weather thermometer is usually inside a closed glass tube

containing liquids like alcohol or mercury.

Temperature is measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit, depending

on where you are located in the world. Most countries in the
world aside from the United States measure temperature in
degrees Celsius. Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius and boils
at 100 degrees C, while in Fahrenheit, water freezes at 32
degrees F and boils at 212 degrees F. One degree Celsius is
1.8 times larger than one degree Fahrenheit.
How does a weather thermometer work?

When air around the thermometer tube heats up the liquid

inside it, the liquid expands and moves up the tube. There's
usually a scale on each side of the tube to indicate the
temperature, which you can measure by seeing where the
liquid stops on the scale. It's a very important piece of
equipment that is essential to how we measure weather.

What is a Weather Vane?

A weather vane, or wind vane, is a piece of equipment that's
used to show the direction of the wind . They are typically found
on top of a building. A weather vane usually resembles
an arrow shape, with letters on it that indicate north, south,
east, and west. The arrow rotates freely as a result of the wind
and points in the direction that the wind is coming from.

Although weather vanes have a function, they are usually

decorative, and they act as an architectural ornament at the
highest point of a building. Weather vanes traditionally have the
cockerel design with letters indicating the points of a compass.
Other common objects on the weather vane include ships,
arrows, and horses.

Weather vanes were historically cast from heavy-duty metals

such as iron and bronze. They are now more commonly made
out of much lighter materials like aluminium and steel to ensure
that they move properly in the wind.

How does a weather vane work?

A weather vane will work when it's windy outside. When the
wind is sufficiently strong, the head of the arrow will indicate
which direction the wind is coming from (rather than where the
wind is blowing to). This is because the point of least
resistance of the wind vane points into the wind. The end of the
wind vane is bigger than the front, making the front end the
point of least resistance.

For a weather vane to work correctly, the weight on each side

of the wind vane must be of equal mass.

Barometer
What is a barometer?

A barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure (or

barometric pressure). Barometers help meteorologists to track
the weather and predict storms and weather patterns, as well
as determining altitude. These factors help us with how we
measure weather.

How does a barometer work?

A barometer is a glass tube that is usually about 3 feet high

with one end open and the other end sealed. The tube is filled
with mercury, and it sits upside-down in a container, which also
contains mercury. The mercury level in the glass tube falls, thus
creating a vacuum at the top.

The barometer works by balancing the weight of mercury in the

glass tube against the atmospheric pressure, similar to a set of
weighing scales. Once the 'scales' have stopped moving and
are balanced, the pressure is recorded by reading the value at
the height of the mercury.

Rain Gauge
What is a rain gauge?

A rain gauge measures the amount of rain that has fallen over
a specific time period in a specific area. This weather
instrument is a container which is placed in an open area to
collect the rain water. standard rain gauge consists of a long,
narrow cylinder capable of measuring rainfall up to 8 inches.
Many rain gauges measure precipitation in millimeters, or to
the nearest 100th of an inch. Other gauges collect the rain
and weigh it, later converting this measurement into inches.
There are also snow gauges designed to accurately measure
snowfall.

How does a rain gauge work?

A rain gauge is a simple piece of equipment that measures

rainfall. It's simply a cylinder that catches rain. If an inch of rain
is collected in the cylinder, it means an inch of rain has fallen.
Most rain gauges have a wide funnel leading into the cylinder.
Rain gauges are also usually heated for the instances when the
temperature drops to below freezing.
Hygrometer
What is a hygrometer?

A hygrometer is used to measure the humidity of water vapour

in the air. Humidity is the 'wetness' of the air around us. There
are different types of hygrometers that are used to measure
humidity and water vapour, like electronic hygrometers and
hygrometer apps. Electronic hygrometers take a sample of air
and use it to measure the resistance, and then they use that to
calculate the humidity.

How does a hygrometer work?

In a capacitive hygrometer, there are two metal plates with air

in between them. The more water there is in the air, the more it
affects the plates ability to store static electric charge.
Measuring how much charge can be stored is the way to use a
hygrometer to measure humidity quickly and accurately.
Alternatively, you could use a hygrometer by purchasing an app
for your smartphone. Some apps require a built-in humidity
sensor whilst some other apps work by sending a query to a
local weather station server which sends back the humidity
measurement for your phone to display.

Sling Psychrometer
A sling psychrometer is another form of weather instrument
that's used to measure humidity. It's used to find relative
humidity, which is expressed as a percentage. Two
thermometers are used in a sling psychrometer: a wet-bulb
thermometer and a dry-bulb thermometer. There is a cloth wick
or sock that covers the wet-bulb thermometer. A sling-
psychrometer can be used to determine the physical and
thermal properties of moist air.

How does a sling psychrometer work?

A sling psychrometer works by allowing the water soaked by

the cloth wick on the wet-bulb thermometer to get evaporated
into the air. The handle or chain at the other end of the sling
psychrometer is used to the whirl the device around. This
whirling action generates air flow, and enables the wick to
come into contact with more air, so evaporation will take place
more effectively.

The water evaporating leads to a drop in the temperature,

which is measured and displayed on the wet-bulb thermometer.
At the same time, the dry-bulb thermometer displays the
original temperature reading. You then take the difference
between these values to get an exact drop in temperature.
Once you have this, you can use this number to measure the
humidity. The temperature drop will be directly proportional to
the amount of water that evaporates into the air.

If the air is more humid, the amount of water evaporated will be

less, resulting in a lower temperature drop.

Anemometer
What is an anemometer?

An anemometer is a weather instrument used to measure wind

speed and wind pressure. It can be used to measure any other
type of gas, too - not just wind. Anemometers can vary a lot in
their appearance, but the main thing is that they all have a
feature that is designed to move when it's windy to calculate
the wind speed.

In the image below, we see that this anemometer has a dial

with cups attached to it that move when it's windy. Other
anemometers may have a spinning wheel that spins when it's
windy enough.

How does an anemometer work?

When the wind blows, it spins the anemometer around. The

anemometer counts the number of rotations in a given amount
of time, which is then used to calculate the speed of the wind.
The faster the wind, the more rotations there will be.

Hail Pad
 •••

Hail pads measure the size of hail that falls during a storm. A
standard hail pad consists of florist's foam and aluminum foil.
The falling hail strikes the foil and creates dimples for the
observer to measure after the storm.

Campbell Stokes Recorder

 •••

The Campbell Stokes Recorder measures sunshine.

Sunlight shines into one side of a glass ball and leaves
through the opposite side in a concentrated ray. This
ray of light burns a mark onto a thick piece of card. The
extensiveness of the burn mark indicates how many
hours the sun shone during that day.

Weather Stations: A Combination of Weather

Instruments
All of the weather instruments mentioned above can provide
vital information. But when their information is combined and
analyzed, you get a clearer view of the complete weather
picture—and you can also make reliable forecasts. This is why
a weather station is a great way to get a comprehensive view of
the weather conditions surrounding you.
Paryanometers:

A pyranometer is a sensor that converts the global solar radiation it

receives into an electrical signal that can be measured.
Pyranometers measure a portion of the solar spectrum.
Based on the Seebeck- or thermoelectric effect, a pyranometer is operated
based on the measurement of a temperature difference between a clear
surface and a dark surface. The black coating on the thermopile sensor
absorbs solar radiation, while the clear surface reflects it.

Windsocks
Windsocks are typically used at airports to show the direction and
strength of the wind to pilots, and at chemical plants where there is risk
of gaseous leakage. They are also sometimes located alongside
 highways at windy locations. Indicates wind direction and estimates its
speed.
each stripe flying parallel to the ground adds three knots of wind speed.
1 stripe = 3 knots (3.5 mph / 5.6 km/h); 2 stripes = 6 knots (7 mph / 11.1
km/h); 3 stripes = 9 knots (10.4 mph / 16.7 km/h)

The Precipitation Identification Sensor /present weather

sensor

The Precipitation Identification Sensor detects precipitation type and

measures precipitation intensity. The Precipitation Identification Sensor
uses weather-particle-induced optical scintillation of an infrared emitter
diode (IRED) system to identify precipitation state and type and measure
precipitation intensity. The present weather sensor (PWS) is a
component of an automatic weather station that detects the
presence of hydrometeors and determines their type (rain, snow,
drizzle, etc.) and intensity. The Present Weather Sensor provides
detailed information about precipitation and visibility. These
measurements are used to help road weather professionals make
important public and maintenance decisions. FEATURES: Activate fog
warning signs.

Disdrometer:
A disdrometer is an optical device situated on a stationary ground
station platform that measures properties of different hydrometeor
(precipitation) types such as raindrops, snowflakes, and hail.
Disdrometers are automated rainfall measurement instruments, which
are able to continuously measure the number, size and velocity of falling
raindrops and are thus able to give direct measurements of the kinetic
energy. Automatic disdrometers have since been designed to measure
PSD and/or PSVD using either mechanical impact principles, where the
falling drops hit a pressure sensor which converts this into an electrical
current Optical laser-based disdrometers use laser beams to measure
the number, size and velocity of raindrops. The measurement of the
drop size distribution (DSD) and velocity enables the estimation of
rainfall characteristics such as the accumulated rainfall amount (R),
intensity (I) and kinetic energy (KE).

Transmissiometer;

A transmissometer or transmissiometer is an instrument for

measuring the extinction coefficient of the atmosphere and sea water,
and for the determination of visual range. It operates by sending a
narrow, collimated beam of energy (usually a laser) through the
propagation medium. A narrow field of view receiver at the designated
measurement distance determines how much energy is arriving at
the detector, and determines the path transmission and/or extinction
coefficient.[1] In a transmissometer the extinction coefficient is determined
by measuring direct light transmissivity, and the extinction coefficient is
then used to calculate visibility range.
Transmissometers are optical instruments that measure the
clarity of water by measuring the fraction of light energy lost
from a collimated light beam as it passes along a known
pathlength. Transmissometers are used to determine runway
visual range. They are located on the sides of runways at both
commercial and private airports, typically at either end with one
at the midpoint.
Ceilometer:

ceilometer, device for measuring the height of cloud bases and

overall cloud thickness. One important use of the ceilometer is to
determine cloud ceilings at airports.
This device is widely used in aviation and meteorology. The
height of the lowest cloud layer below 20,000 feet (6,096 m)
that covers more than half the sky is the cloud ceiling. This
status is continuously monitored by ceilometers at major
airports and the result is reported to flight crews. A ceilometer is a
device that uses a laser or other light source to determine the height of a
cloud ceiling or cloud base. Ceilometers can also be used to measure
the aerosol concentration within the atmosphere. The Vaisala Laser
Ceilometer (CEIL) is a self-contained, ground-based, active, remote-
sensing device designed to measure cloud-base height, vertical visibility,
and potential backscatter signals by aerosols. It detects up to three
cloud layers simultaneously. Model CL31 has a maximum vertical range
of 7700 meters (m).