Weatherwise....

HONEY, I WANT A WEATHER STATION

After we moved to the beach full-time, I waited exactly one long week before my wife finally asked how fast I thought the wind was blowing in off the beach. I’d prepared my answer for years: “We’d really need one of those personal weather stations to know that kind of information, honey.”

She smiled, realizing she’d been set up after enduring my frequent campaigns for some sort of home-based weather station setup. In the past, she’d always said The Weather Channel was all we needed when it came to knowing the weather. I’d unsuccessfully countered with our need to know more specific local information. But that argument didn't hold up while we were living in the middle of a city with readily available local weather reports.

Now that we had moved to a coastal North Carolina island, however, it took just one week to know that living by the ocean could bring some serious wind, rain, and other weather--in a hurry.

Now receptive to my weather station concept, she was still prepared for a budgetary battle. “Now that we’re at the beach and weather is more a part of our daily lives, you can look into getting one", she said. "But, it better not break the bank!”

That was the opening I needed, so I began my serious research into personal weather stations on a budget. I was a Willard Scott wannabe with a mission!

So Many Options

An Internet search for “personal weather stations” turns up hundreds of links. Feeling overwhelmed, I turned to a fun catalog from Wind & Weather where I had seen several weather stations listed.

I called the catalog's office and ended up talking with an expert named Don. He was incredibly helpful, as he asked many questions and learned what I thought I might need with my--I mean our--weather station.

I only had a vague idea about what I wanted and what the various models offered, so Don and I came up with a list of priorities and parameters. These included: price; wireless technology; temperature; wind speed and direction; rain; humidity; and, possibly, trends in barometric pressure and records of past weather.

Wind & Weather also has a useful section called, “Choosing the Right Weather Instrument: This One’s for Me!” Along with Don’s advice, it really helped me understand what features would be best for our weather station, without breaking the bank.

Making the Choice

Now that I had narrowed the choices, I spent a ton of time perusing Wind & Weather’s catalog and website (www.windandweather.com), as well as the websites of the two major manufacturers that interested me most: La Crosse Technology (www.lacrossetechnology.com) and Oregon Scientific (www.weathertools.com).

There are dozens of different options and price ranges, with basic weather stations starting around $35 and heading up to $600 and more. Given my wife’s budgetary guidance, Don’s advice, and my research, I felt I could get the features I wanted for around $250.

Eventually, I selected the 433MHz Wireless Weather Station from La Crosse Technology, which retails for $259 with Wind & Weather (and is perfectly described as, “A Wind & Weather Best Buy: Your First Weather Station”). It had my name on it!

This sleek black and silver model (there’s a wood panel version for $299) has a long list of features I wanted (or might want), including: wireless and wired capability (I highly recommend wireless); an easy-to-read base station with a ton of information displays; three outdoor sensors (thermo-hygro transmitter for temperature and much more, wind sensor, and rain sensor); weather tendency and forecast indicators and icons; detailed rainfall and wind data; a storm warning alarm (a nice thing at the beach); a port cable for downloading weather information to a computer; and Wireless Weather Station software.

I Want Weather

It all came in a box about 18”x18” in size, which I excitedly opened when it arrived. I found the setup quite intuitive and was literally up and running within an hour. The only thing I did wrong was placing the thermo-hygro sensor directly in the sun, which gave initial temperature readings that were obviously too high. Once I placed it in a sheltered spot, as the directions had suggested all along, I was all set to appear on The Weather Channel as a local correspondent.

Now that I’ve had my Wireless Weather Station for a few months, I’ve found I use it even more than I thought I might. The only thing I wish it had is some tidal information, but I’m already plotting a way to get a separate instrument for this--Just don't tell my wife.

With my station, I check the temperature and wind conditions several times a day, but I also use my purchase for lots of things I didn’t anticipate--like wind chill readings during a brisk spring morning or downloading past weather information when we’ve returned from a trip (so I’ll know if I need to water our plants). I've even caught my wife checking the display at least once a day!