Weather Station Advice Needed

heatherweather
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jun 18, 2020 6:04:39 GMT -6 via mobile

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Post by heatherweather on Jun 18, 2020 6:04:39 GMT -6

I’m researching reasonably priced weather stations that are also reliable and easy to install/use. I’ve been through the other threads and can’t find any recent suggestions other than two brands - Atlas and Davis.

This is a new level of weather nerd for me, and although I can Google this to death, I thought the best place to ask for advice is here.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Total severe weather nerd, starting with Hurricane Andrew! Follow me on Instagram @themagicalredhead. Please note that any excitement or disappointment displayed regarding severe weather events is strictly about experiencing the event itself from a meteorological standpoint (not the potential negative impacts to life and property).

SKYSUMMIT
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jun 22, 2020 14:14:54 GMT -6 heatherweather likes this

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Post by SKYSUMMIT on Jun 22, 2020 14:14:54 GMT -6

Placement is everything. Even the cheaper LaCrosse models can work good IF placed right. The biggest issue people see is temperature spiking which is very common for us in the deep south due to the higher sun angle. Other than Davis and Acurite, I had very good luck with Oregon Scientific.

The Atlas is probably the easiest, and most cost efficient way to get everything you need. You can even add lightning to it for a small cost. You can also get an extension pole for the Atlas's anemometer so you can place the temp/humidity sensor in a good location and get the height you need for the anemometer. It really all comes down to what you want to spend, and what do you think is reliable. An Atlas would probably give you 2-3 years of use if cared for right. Davis could last forever lol

REALTOR - Team Geaux Realty, LLC (Let me be your Realtor!)
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Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 GCWX Supporter Posts: 8,037	Weather Station Advice Needed Jun 27, 2020 18:22:42 GMT -6 via mobile SKYSUMMIT and heatherweather like this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 on Jun 27, 2020 18:22:42 GMT -6 I'm happy with the Ambient 2902a Wi-Fi wireless. Not sure your price range......

crashtestdummy
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jul 23, 2020 7:03:14 GMT -6 heatherweather likes this

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Post by crashtestdummy on Jul 23, 2020 7:03:14 GMT -6

My Davis is still chugging right along. It DOES seem to be a bit 'conservative' in the wind speed and rainfall amounts measured, and the 'daily rain' measurement appears to reset at midnight, local time, not every 24 hours, so you can get a deluge overnight, but if all you get is a sprinkle after midnight, you'll wake up to water standing in the yard and wondering why how that happened with only a few hundredths of an inch of rain. =8-0

As others have said, though, placement is important for accuracy. Our location is on a fence in the back of the yard. It's about 6' off the ground, but has a large cottonwood tree to the northeast of it and a large ash to the west, which kind of shields things.

So far, though, I'm mostly happy with it.

"You can learn a lot from a dummy."

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jul 23, 2020 12:24:44 GMT -6 via mobile

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Post by Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 on Jul 23, 2020 12:24:44 GMT -6

Jul 23, 2020 7:03:14 GMT -6 crashtestdummy said:

My Davis is still chugging right along. It DOES seem to be a bit 'conservative' in the wind speed and rainfall amounts measured, and the 'daily rain' measurement appears to reset at midnight, local time, not every 24 hours, so you can get a deluge overnight, but if all you get is a sprinkle after midnight, you'll wake up to water standing in the yard and wondering why how that happened with only a few hundredths of an inch of rain. =8-0

As others have said, though, placement is important for accuracy. Our location is on a fence in the back of the yard. It's about 6' off the ground, but has a large cottonwood tree to the northeast of it and a large ash to the west, which kind of shields things.

So far, though, I'm mostly happy with it.

All stations reset at midnight like official records. Hopefully you are uploading to one of the several free hosting sites so you can get data from any day to explain your wet yard!

As far as winds....I've long ago resigned myself to understanding that my anemometer will never read tree top winds (obviously)......however I think perhaps it's just as useful if not more so to measure at closer to ground level as that is where we all actually live....

grisairgasm
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jul 23, 2020 13:33:10 GMT -6 heatherweather likes this

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Post by grisairgasm on Jul 23, 2020 13:33:10 GMT -6

Love my Davis Vantage Pro II. Besides reliable, accurate, and longevity it is not all in one. The rain part is in one place in the yard and the anemometer is mounted 10 feet above the roofline and about 35 feet off the ground total. They make a cheaper one that is all in one. I think it is called the Vue? Anyway, you need access to the rain collector in order to clean it every month or so. You will be surprised how much debris it can collect over time. If you get the Vue, it is a trade off. If you mount it high or on the roof for the wind then it is difficult to clean the rain collector. If you mount it low in the yard then wind accuracy is compromised. By the way, hurricane winds can be 30% more above seventy feet in neighborhoods. Regardless of some accuracy sacrifices you will luv having a station. You’ll look at it everyday.

Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jul 23, 2020 19:12:43 GMT -6 via mobile

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Post by Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 on Jul 23, 2020 19:12:43 GMT -6

Jul 23, 2020 13:33:10 GMT -6 grisairgasm said:

Love my Davis Vantage Pro II........Anyway, you need access to the rain collector in order to clean it every month or so........If you mount it low in the yard then wind accuracy is compromised......

I have a AmbientSW all in one wireless. Love it. Yes my anemometer is at about 6.5 feet as it's part of my station. I'd say the accuracy is not affected by placement. It measures the wind at the installation point. Instead of saying the accuracy is compromised I'd say how you use the information needs to be understood.

Treetop winds in my area in the past year probably topped out at about 50 mph....my highest measured reading was 27. It makes sense.

Oh for me my rain gauge rarely needs cleaning.....surprisingly. I guess it depends on the kind of trees we have and distance from out gauges

SKYSUMMIT
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jul 25, 2020 6:05:53 GMT -6 via mobile heatherweather likes this

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Post by SKYSUMMIT on Jul 25, 2020 6:05:53 GMT -6

Jul 23, 2020 19:12:43 GMT -6 Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 said:

Jul 23, 2020 13:33:10 GMT -6 grisairgasm said:

Love my Davis Vantage Pro II........Anyway, you need access to the rain collector in order to clean it every month or so........If you mount it low in the yard then wind accuracy is compromised......

I have a AmbientSW all in one wireless. Love it. Yes my anemometer is at about 6.5 feet as it's part of my station. I'd say the accuracy is not affected by placement. It measures the wind at the installation point. Instead of saying the accuracy is compromised I'd say how you use the information needs to be understood.

Treetop winds in my area in the past year probably topped out at about 50 mph....my highest measured reading was 27. It makes sense.

Oh for me my rain gauge rarely needs cleaning.....surprisingly. I guess it depends on the kind of trees we have and distance from out gauges

Do you see any temperature spikes during the summer? That was my biggest issue with the Acurite 5 in 1. The Atlas wasn't as bad but still had some spiking.

REALTOR - Team Geaux Realty, LLC (Let me be your Realtor!)
Search homes on my website --> www.scottguidry.com/
NWS COOP ID: 16-7425-08
CoCoRaHs ID: LA-TG-23

Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jul 25, 2020 20:19:05 GMT -6 via mobile SKYSUMMIT and heatherweather like this

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Post by Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 on Jul 25, 2020 20:19:05 GMT -6

Do you see any temperature spikes during the summer? That was my biggest issue with the Acurite 5 in 1. The Atlas wasn't as bad but still had some spiking. [/quote]

Hmmmmmm. Not that I have noticed. There are about a dozen PWSs within about 5 miles of me. I seem to be pretty ballpark with them not knowing how each is situated. If I am a little high on a sunny day it might be that my installation is above some large gravel near my deck.

nolasim
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Weather Station Advice Needed Jul 27, 2020 16:28:22 GMT -6 heatherweather likes this

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Post by nolasim on Jul 27, 2020 16:28:22 GMT -6

I have an Ambient Weather Station Model # WS 1171A. It does the job. It does not show wind speed or dew point, but these are not critical to me. It displays the usual suspects like temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. It gives indoor/outdoor temp. It also displays a graph which shows barometric trends in the past hours. I use that feature sometimes. It's reliable and not too expensive. It is wireless and it's only $20.00. No bells and whistles, but a good product.

"Let's work the problem, people; don't make things worse by guessing!"

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Will - Ascension Parish
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Weather Station Advice Needed Oct 20, 2020 13:43:21 GMT -6 SKYSUMMIT and heatherweather like this

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Post by Will - Ascension Parish on Oct 20, 2020 13:43:21 GMT -6

I can't say enough good things about my Davis Vantage Pro2. It was not cheap, though. I believe I paid roughly $1,000-$1,100 for it. As Sky said, placement is EVERYTHING. Unfortunately where I live there are many trees all around my yard. I have my anemometer placed about 23' above ground (because I can't safely lift it to 33' without a high risk of the pole coming crashing down) and the closest trees are roughly 50' away so my windspeeds are usually 5-10mph lower than they should be and in come cases, much lower, depending on the wind direction.

Rainfall, temperature, humidity, and dewpoint are all spot on, though. It took a bit of adjusting but once I calibrated everything correctly, my readings were very, very accurate.

I would advise against Accurite because they don't last long. I've gone through five of them in the past with each of them lasting only a year or two at the most. When my last one finally broke, I decided to drop some coin on the Davis and I'm glad I did.

Do note, however, that if you want your info to be online and recorded, you have to pay an annual fee. I believe I pay a little less than $50 a year.

Last Edit: Oct 20, 2020 13:45:33 GMT -6 by Will - Ascension Parish

Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59
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Weather Station Advice Needed Oct 22, 2020 11:00:16 GMT -6 via mobile heatherweather likes this

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Post by Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 on Oct 22, 2020 11:00:16 GMT -6

Jul 25, 2020 6:05:53 GMT -6 SKYSUMMIT said:

Jul 23, 2020 19:12:43 GMT -6 Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 said:

I have a AmbientSW all in one wireless. Love it. Yes my anemometer is at about 6.5 feet as it's part of my station. I'd say the accuracy is not affected by placement. It measures the wind at the installation point. Instead of saying the accuracy is compromised I'd say how you use the information needs to be understood.

Treetop winds in my area in the past year probably topped out at about 50 mph....my highest measured reading was 27. It makes sense.

Oh for me my rain gauge rarely needs cleaning.....surprisingly. I guess it depends on the kind of trees we have and distance from out gauges

Do you see any temperature spikes during the summer? That was my biggest issue with the Acurite 5 in 1. The Atlas wasn't as bad but still had some spiking.

I think on sunny days I read a little high but currently over large gravel and with no wind there should be a bias there. Of course cloudy days, windy days, and rainy days there is a large amount of homogeneity across all measuring stations

Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59
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Weather Station Advice Needed Oct 22, 2020 11:04:25 GMT -6 via mobile SKYSUMMIT and heatherweather like this

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Post by Shibumi-Mandeville I-12/Hwy59 on Oct 22, 2020 11:04:25 GMT -6

Mine is an Ambient 2902a. Roughly $150-160. Love it. Free hosting on Ambient.net and easy setup for others like wunderground (though I am still pisses at them when IBM/The Weather Company bought them I lost years and years of data.

cheftiffany
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Weather Station Advice Needed Nov 11, 2020 8:55:42 GMT -6 HarahanTim - Now in Covington! and heatherweather like this

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Post by cheftiffany on Nov 11, 2020 8:55:42 GMT -6

I agree with Will. Accurite might be less expensive and highly reviewed online, but they are not long lasting. Davis Vantage Pro 2 provide much more value for money. I also use a climacell account cos I read that it collates information from several weather stations, mobile towers and other kinds of electronic devices. Not sure how true that is, so giving it a try.

NavyMom: WBR Parish
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Weather Station Advice Needed Nov 22, 2020 13:13:30 GMT -6 heatherweather likes this

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Post by NavyMom: WBR Parish on Nov 22, 2020 13:13:30 GMT -6

I am looking at the Ambient WS-2000.
Looking through some of the reviews on Amazon, customers have mentioned it not coming with an indoor temperature sensor? I am unable to figure out what comes with it and what needs to be added to it. I plan to buy from the Ambien website- was just using Amazon for the reviews.

Any advice?

“On Christ, the solid Rock I stand. Everything else is just sinking sand.”

Ambient Weather:
ambientweather.net/dashboard/29355f8f3f87e2a4ec7ccc562ab0f3cf

WU:
www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KLAADDIS7