The impact of weather is evident throughout human history. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast causing severe loss of life and property. The mass destruction led to the largest population redistribution in United States history.
When dealing with hazardous weather, monitoring and prediction are ever more imperative. Professionals strive for earlier and more accurate warnings to ensure the safety of the population. Monitoring weather can mean the difference between life and death.
Weather affects a variety of industries including: agriculture, airline, shipping, tourist, and energy. Millions of dollars are lost every year due to the weather through shipment delays or losses, business closings, flight cancellations, and power outages. These are detrimental to the economy. With effective monitoring, organizations can reduce costs.
As a population, we are influenced by the weather, but we also affect the weather. Acid rain and greenhouse gases are just two negative consequences of pollution caused by humans. Weather monitoring is crucial to the sustainability of both humans and the environment. Typical weather stations monitor air temperature, barometric pressure, PAR, precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed and direction.
Air Temperature
Air temperature is a measure of how hot or cold the air is. It is the most commonly measured weather parameter. Temperature describes the kinetic energy, or energy of motion, of the gases that make up air. As gas molecules move more quickly, air temperature increases.
Air temperature affects the growth and reproduction of plants and animals, with warmer temperatures promoting biological growth. Air temperature also affects nearly all other weather parameters. Air pollution affects temperature by increasing the amount of greenhouse gases that trap heat near the earths surface.
Barometric Pressure
Barometric pressure (or air pressure) is the weight of the overlying air pressing down on the earth. Barometric pressure is mainly influenced by temperature and altitude. Barometric pressure decreases with increasing temperature because air is less dense at warmer temperatures. This makes warm air rise, and cold air sink.
Barometric pressure has been used for hundreds of years to forecast weather conditions. High barometric pressure supports sunny, clear, and favorable weather conditions. Low barometric pressure promotes rainy and cloudy weather conditions.
PAR
PAR is the amount of light available for photosynthesis. PAR stands for photosynthetically active radiation and is needed for photosynthesis and plant growth. Higher PAR promotes plant growth.
PAR changes seasonally, and varies depending on the latitude and time of day. Factors that reduce the amount of PAR available to plants include anything that reduces sunlight, such as cloud cover, shading by trees, and buildings. Air pollution also affects PAR by filtering out the amount of sunlight that can reach plants.
Precipitation
Precipitation is any form of water that falls to the earths surface. This includes snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, and hail. Precipitation is needed to replenish water to the earth. Without precipitation, this planet would be an enormous desert.
Physical factors that affect the type, occurrence, and amount of precipitation include location, air temperature, barometric pressure, and wind speed and direction. Environmental factors that affect the composition of precipitation include air pollution. For instance, one of the leading causes of acid rain is nitric oxide and sulfur dioxide gases released in car exhaust and factory smoke.
Relative Humidity
Relative humidity is a measure of the amount of moisture in the air relative to the total amount of moisture that the air can hold. Without humidity, there would be no clouds, no precipitation, and no fog. Humidity is simply water vapor in the air, which is needed to form rain.
Relative humidity is influenced by temperature and geographic location. Warmer air holds more moisture than cooler air, and warmer weather promotes evaporation. Areas with a lot of surface water, such as coastal areas and the Great Lakes region, have high humidity levels due to evaporation.
Wind Speed and Direction
Wind speed describes how fast the air is moving past a certain point. Wind direction describes the direction on a compass from which the wind emanates. Wind speed and direction are caused by differences in air temperature and variations in barometric pressure. Land forms and topography also influence wind speed and direction. Large bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes and oceans, promote high wind speeds.
Wind speed and direction are important for monitoring and predicting weather patterns and global climate. Wind speed and direction have numerous impacts on surface water. These parameters affect rates of evaporation, mixing of surface waters, and the development of seiches and storm surges.
Conclusion
Weather monitoring is vital for safe living and a functional society. Effective monitoring permits greater understanding of severe weather, which in turn helps to provide advanced warning when severe conditions are imminent. Furthermore, monitoring allows us to better understand the impact human society has on the climate.
Data logging and telemetry systems from NexSens Technology provide an easy and efficient means for collecting, storing, and transmitting data from remote weather monitoring stations. A NexSens weather station with real-time data transmission can simultaneously serve as an early warning notification system, weather research vessel, and graphical interface for viewing current weather conditions.
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