weather station

[offroadjosh]

what do they use for a weather station on the mtn?? davis pro 2??

[JimS]

Very Funny. As great as Davis instruments are, they would not last a day on Washington. The station holds the unofficial record for most modern instruments destroyed at a single station.

The instruments that are used are manual, mechanical and classic. From an avaition pitot tube for wind speed to a sling psychrometer for humidity, standards, and modified standards are all that work...

Here's a link...
http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/instruments/

[Bill O]

That is funny. A Davis would last for several weeks during the summer, maybe.

Jim forgot to mention the human element. The weather observers play a major role in data collection. They determine visibility, cloud height, precip type and icing rates.

[Mike D]

Any off-the-shelf weather station would crumple under the force of Mount Washington's wind and ice. The summit uses a heterogeneous mix of industrial quality devices, custom-built components, and high- and low-tech instruments.

For example, the pitot static anemometer is custom-machined for us, and for light winds we also use a plastic R.M. Young propeller anemometer. We measure the temperature and humidity using good, old-fashioned mercury thermometers. For air pressure, we have a 60 year old mercury barometer and a 3 year old digital precision barometer.

The trick is to use the tried and true devices as much as possible while maintaining redundancy in case of failure (stuff happens).

[Steve M]

The Davis Pro 2 would work really well for some guy from Florida.

[Mike D]

Originally Posted by Steve M

The Davis Pro 2 would work really well for some guy from Florida.

...until the next hurricane.

[Bill O]

Which isn't to say Davis Vantage Pros aren't good weather stations. I have two and I recommend them to people all the time.

Properly sited and maintained the data they collect is accurate and precise. They're just not made to handle extreme winds and icing. Thats a good thing too, otherwise they would cost more than $300

[Patrad Fischroy]

Originally Posted by offroadjosh

what do they use for a weather station on the mtn?? davis pro 2??

Actually they use the more refined RN mark2K


http://www.lilligren.com/Redneck/red...er_station.htm

The version shown here is the consumer version, on the mountain they have to use a chain in place of the twine.

[Arthur Dent]

Mike D-"...For example, the pitot static anemometer is custom-machined for us..."

Interestingly the pitot doesn't point horizontally as most people think but actually points slightly down at an angle of 7°. As the winds whip over the summit from the valley there is a slight upward direction and this 7° offset is designed to catch it by pointing directly into the wind. Perhaps the data collected from the sonic anemometer, which can profile the wind 3-dimensionally, could verify if this angle is optimum.

[Brad]

The twine seems to be vertical.