Weather monitoring and weather prediction in some climates is a national pastime. Some people are quite good at reading the signs of impending poor weather, some not so good! Animals tend to be better but they can't talk! We prefer to rely on objective data measurement for our weather data.
Why Measure Weather Conditions?
Weather plays an important part in the operation of infrastructure systems:
- Cold temperatures may lead to snow/ ice build-up on roads/ motorways causing dangerous driving conditions
- High temperatures may lead to degradation of road surface or rail buckling in the case of railways
- Heavy precipitation or rain can lead to unsafe driving conditions and also instability of roadside and trackside embankments causing landslips/ landslides
- High winds can cause hazards for pedestrians as well as high-sided road and rail traffic
Specification
The weather station records:
- Ambient Temperature (±0.5°C)
- Wind Speed & Direction (Speed: 0-40m/s ±5%; Direction: 0-359° ±3°)
- Humidity (0-100% ±5%)
- Air Pressure (300-1100hPa ±1hPa)
- Precipitation (0-100mm/hr ±10%)
The Weather Station has a heater included which brings the overall power consumption to 1.7w which, in comparison to the Wireless Temperature, Water Level and Terrain Stability monitoring, is a much larger power requirement. This power requirement is still fulfilled by solar panel but, depending on the location of the installation, the solar panel size may be up to 150w (approx 1600mm X 800mm)
Maintenance
There are no specific maintenance requirements for the Weather Station other than a periodic inspection to ensure that there is no dirt/ debris built up on the instrument. There are no moving parts in the instrument. The battery in the Base Station will last around two years depending on the temperature.