With funds provided by Pomona College, we were able to purchase a weather station for the BFS, and it’s now installed in coastal sage scrub north of the lake, where it senses and reports basic weather data – temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind direction, and wind speed.
The new BFS weather station. ©Nancy Hamlett.
The BFS weather station reports data to the Weather Underground website, and you can see and download some data at http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KCACLARE9.
A screen shot of the BFS weather data on Weather Underground. ©Nancy Hamlett.
More sensors (soil humidity, ground temperature, leaf wetness, etc.) will soon be added. If you need any of the data for publication purposes, please contact BFS Director Marty Meyer, who can send you the appropriate files.
Here are some photos from the installation of the weather station:
The tripod base and crossarm awaiting sensor installation. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Pete Pelletier (Pomona ’14) and BFS Director Marty Meyer preparing to install the wind direction and wind speed indicators. ©Nancy Hamlett.
With the wind speed and wind direction sensors in place, Prof. Lelia Hawkins (HMC Chemistry) checks the instructions while BFS Director Marty Meyer and Pete Pelletier (Pomona ’14) install the solar panel that provides power to the weather station. ©Nancy Hamlett.
BFS Director Marty Meyer and Prof. Lelia Hawkins (HMC Chemistry) prepare the temperature and humidity sensor for installation. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Prof. Lelia Hawkins (HMC Chemistry) and BFS Director Marty Meyer installing the temperature and humidity sensor. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Voila! The weather station assembled and functioning. ©Nancy Hamlett.