In this day and age of technology, where you can get up to the minute weather updates from such organization as The Weather Network and National Weather Service or even local weather stations directly to your cell phone or PDA, why would someone want a personal home weather station? You need to look no farther then your own back yard.
You cannot get a more local forecast then that of your own back yard or homestead. This is where the weather will affect you most and it is for this micro-climate that you want up-to-the-minute and historical weather data. In definition, a Micro-climate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from it's surrounding area. On the east coast the saying is "if you don't like the weather now, just wait a few minutes..." For gardeners and farmers, localized weather forecasts are an absolute.
Local public safety agencies recognize the importance of on-site professional weather stations too, relying on them to provide timely and often critical weather information for emergencies and during times of severe weather. In addition, airports, schools, utility companies, agricultural businesses, as well as a host of others utilize professional weather stations to monitor their local weather conditions; an important and necessary tool for their organizations.
From start-up to professional, home weather stations will give you information you simply can't get anywhere else. Available in either a Wired or Wireless configuration, Personal Weather Stations (PWS) are now very affordable, easy to setup, educational and even more... fun! Having the exact weather forcast and historical data for your homestead at your fingertips via wireless console is very convenient. With the addition of data logger software and a bit of technical know how, you can even have your home weather station available on the Internet and have the additional freedom of checking in on your local weather from anywhere in the world!
Home weather stations usually include a clock or in some instances an atomic clock and moon phases. Only the very basic models include inside and outside temperatures with humidity and atmospheric pressure. These basic stations are cheaper and really don't give much data. More complete weather stations will give you additional sensors to monitor wind, rainfall, dew point along with heat index and wind chill. Depending on the model, these professional weather stations allow you to add different sensors later in time so your weather station can expanded upon as you can afford it. The higher end professional models offer all of the above plus higher sampling rates, data analysis software for forecasting and graphs. They would also be capable on supporting advanced sensors such as ultraviolet, solar radiation to soil temperature, soil moisture, and leaf wetness. Many are also capable of calculating evapotranspiration, an important factor for agricultural concerns.
Everyone has an interest in the weather, learning about weather forcasting based on the data provided by your personal weather station will give you a better understanding and appreciation for your local environment. And hopefully, at the very least, this will help you prevent any activity that may be ruined by a sudden change of weather ;o)
