Overview
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 literally 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, liquid precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed and direction.
Automatic Weather Station
The WS-100 weather station provides a complete sensor interface and data collection platform for measuring six of the most essential weather parameters. The system simultaneously measures wind speed & direction, liquid precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity - all in a compact sensor housing with no moving parts. All measurements are based on proven Vaisala technology, such as the WINDCAP sensor for wind speed and direction, the modern RAINCAP sensor for rainfall and rain intensity, and a single module for barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity.
The complete weather station conveniently mounts to the included 2" threaded aluminum mast and is ready for long-term deployment. All electronics are housed in a rugged, NEMA 4X enclosure constructed of heavy-duty fiberglass. The built-in 8.5 amp-hour sealed lead acid battery provides 12 volt power to the system, and the battery is continuously charged via 20-watt solar power kit. Polymer-coated circuit boards, sealed connectors, corrosion-resistant stainless steel hardware, and built-in lightning protection ensure reliable performance in the harshest conditions.
The WS-100 standalone weather station consists of a NexSens iSIC Data Logger, Vaisala WXT520 multi-parameter weather sensor, 20-watt solar power kit, and 2" threaded aluminum pole with mounting hardware. The WS-100C real-time cellular telemetry system also incorporates a built-in modem and high gain antenna. The real-time system can be configured for any of the major cellular networks, including Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint Nextel. NexSens iChart Software is a Windows-based program for interfacing both locally (direct-connect) and remotely (through telemetry) to a weather station or network of weather stations.
Selecting a Location
The WS-100 weather stations ship with the data logger, solar panel, and antenna pre-mounted to a 2" diameter x 24" long aluminum pole (MAST). The top of the MAST includes 2" NPT male pipe threads for the WXT510-M mounting kit. The bottom of the MAST also includes male threads for mounting to a pre-installed pole or 2 female threaded fitting.
Finding a suitable site for the WS-100 weather station is important for getting representative ambient measurements. The site should represent the general area of interest. The weather station should be installed in a location that is free from turbulence caused by nearby objects, such as trees and buildings. Ideally, there should be at least 150 meters of open area in all directions from the MAST.
Installations on top of high buildings or masts and in open sites on grounds are vulnerable to lightning strikes. A nearby lightning strike may induce a high-voltage surge not tolerable by the internal surge suppressors of the instrument. Additional protection is need in regions with frequent, severe thunderstorms. A Vaisala WSP150 surge protector is recommended with the WS-100 weather station in all sites where there is an elevated risk of lightning strike.
Managing Data
Weather data is logged at a user-defined interval (minimum 1 minute). The user also sets the interval at which data is transmitted via cellular telemetry. A common interval for weather stations is to log data every 10 minutes and transmit every 30 minutes. Weather data can be transmitted via landline phone, cellular, radio, satellite, or Ethernet telemetry to a remote computer.
iChart is a user-friendly Windows-based software package that serves as the centralized interface and database for all incoming data. A single Software license can manage a virtually unlimited number of remote weather monitoring sites. The software allows users to generate customized reports with weather data from all systems in an iChart database. Reports can be converted to PDF, exported to Microsoft Excel, sent to interested parties via e-mail, uploaded to a web server, and more.
NexSens WQData PRO is an optional web-based data management solution for weather stations and other environmental data. The modular datacenter interface can be easily customized to include project-specific themes and information. WQData PRO offers a unique Active Data Sourcing tool that allows users to query and include water level data from USGS gaging stations, National Weather Service sites, and other publicly available datacenters.
Rental Equipment and On-Site Services
Weather stations are most commonly purchased and installed for long-term or permanent applications; however, there are commonly short-term and/or portable weather measurement applications that make it cost-prohibitive. NexSens Technology offers both standalone and real-time cellular telemetry weather stations with weekly and monthly rental rates to meet project requirements.
To ensure that customers can begin using their weather stations as quickly and efficiently as possible, our application engineers are available for training and technical support, both by phone and in person. Our company offers both extensive field experience and a wide array of deployment hardware to facilitate seamless implementation of the project. Contact our application engineering team for your next weather monitoring project.
