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Getting Your Weather Station Online

One of the greatest joys for the Weather Enthusiast is to be able to share their observations. The following is a compilation of resources to help reach that goal effectively.





Reporting Quality Observations Introduction (From Davis Instruments)
Weather Station Siting / CWOP
Weather Software (3rd Party)
Weather Software Configuration
Personal Weather Stations : Weather Underground
Weather Underground Software Configuration Detailed Instructions
Personal Weather Stations : PWS Weather
CoCoRaHS - the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network
Weather Hardware and Software Support Forums
APRS Resources
Other Software / Notes
 

Reporting Quality Observations To NOAA and other weather observation groups
Introduction From Davis Instruments
Application Note 30 

Through the Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP), NOAA ingests weather data into its weather forecast models at the Forecast Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. As a Cooperative Observer (COOP), it is possible to supplement the sensor data from the NOAA equipment with data from your weather station. However, it should be noted that no consumer system has been officially approved for COOP use other than the equipment provided by the NWS. Other private media groups also have interest in "backyard" weather station data.

Since the number of "official" real-time observations is limited to the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) which has sites primarily at airports and military installations, using private weather stations provides a means to capture more observations without expending substantial resources to acquire, install, and maintain these high-end systems. More observations means better forecast prediction and forecast verification (checking to see if the forecast was correct). However, the quality of observations is also just as important. Since Davis Instruments weather station specifications closely mirror those used by the meteorological community, you can report professional quality observations for just a fraction of the price. Proper siting and installation of the weather station is the primary key here.

As the owner of a Davis Instruments weather station, you can help NOAA improve their forecasts by providing more ground-truth observations. The guidelines here follow recommendations provided by CWOP, NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS). Data provided to other private weather groups also helps them in a similar manner since they also do their own in-house weather forecasting and forecast verification.
 

Weather Station Siting

Reporting Quality Observations to NOAA  Guidelines for the setup & installation of your weather station to provide the highest quality observations for use by NOAA and other weather groups.

Comparison of Five Radiation Shields  A brief comparison of temperature readings in two passively-ventilated and three fan aspirated radiation shields under conditions of low wind and relatively high insolation.

Mounting Solutions: Non-Penetrating Flat Roof  Describes various solutions for mounting a Davis weather station on a non-penetrable flat roof.

Recommendations for siting NWS COOP Stations

Citizen Weather Observer Program(CWOP) Weather Station Siting, Performance, and Data Quality Guide 

Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) Information

CWOP Resources Page a listing of many links to different types of information on measuring the weather
 
CWOP Radiation Shields a discussion of the importance of ventilated radiation shields to improve temperature measurements

Forums & Frequently Asked Questions for CWOP

 

Weather Software (3rd Party)

Sandaysoft > Cumulus Donationware
The Weather Underground / HeavyWeather Uploader (WUHU) Freeware
WeatherCat weather station software for Macintosh computers Free 14 day trial-period / £41.95 (U.K. Pounds).
Weather Display - the Weather Station software Free 30 day trial / $70
Weather View 32 Weather Station Software for monitoring weather stations Free 15 Day Trial / $49.99-$99.99
WeatherSnoop for Mac $20/$50
Weather Station Data Logger GPL Version 3 License
for WMR100, WMR200, RMS300 and Radio Shack 63-256 Weather Stations
Weewx Linux/Python GPL Version 3 License
wview - Linux/FreeBSD/Unix/MacOSX Weather Station Software GPL Version 2 License

VirtualVP Shareware $30
VirtualVP is a program that lets you connect up to 8 weather programs to a single Davis Vantage weather station (console or Envoy).
 

Weather Software Configuration

WeatherLink Getting Started Guide: Vantage Pro/Pro2 (6510, 6555)
Davis Instruments WeatherLink: Setting Up a Weather Data Web Page  Step-by-step process on how to set up your own personal weather website including choosing an Internet Service Provider.
 

Personal Weather Stations : Weather Underground

Weather Underground Software Configuration Detailed Instructions
PWS - Personal Weather Stations - WunderWiki
PWS - Software Configuration Detailed Instructions - WunderWiki

Personal Weather Stations : PWS Weather

PWS Weather FAQ's
How do I start posting to PWSweather?
 

CoCoRaHS - The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network

CoCoRaHS General Information and Standard 4" Gauge
Become a CoCoRaHS Observer
Installing your Equipment
How To Read Your Rain Gauge
CoCoRaHS Getting Started Training Slide-Show
CoCoRaHS Data Reports
CoCoRaHS Data Maps
 

Weather Hardware and Software Support Forums

WXForum.net - The Independent Weather Enthusiasts Forum
Weather-Watch.com Forum - Weather Display and more
 

APRS Resources

Weather - APRSWiki

Ham Radio Weather Station Connections for APRS  Connecting a Davis weather station directly to a Ham Radio for the purpose of transmitting weather data over the APRS network.

Recommended APRS Software

APRS+SA Freeware/DonorWare
AGWTracker Shareware Unlimited Trial / $49
APRSPoint  Shareware Limited Function Trial / $47-$77
UI-View32 Donationware
XASTIR GNU General Public License

VPLive Freeware
VPLive is a program that connects to a Davis Vantage Weather Station console and displays the live data. It calculates the station pressure (i.e. actual pressure), altimeter pressure, and running averages needed to properly generate and send APRS/CWOP data.
 

Other Software / Notes

ACME Mapper 2.0 high-precision general purpose mapping application, based on Google Maps with a bunch of things added on.
EarthTools - Find places, latitude/longitude, sunrise/sunset, elevation, local time and time zones
Latitude and Longitude Finder from iTouchMap.com

Davis Instruments Application Notes

Ethernet Weather Station Connections  General guidelines for substituting an Ethernet connection for the direct USB or serial connection (that WeatherLink normally uses to communicate with a weather station) on a LAN and enabling access over the Internet.
WeatherLink: Move Data From One PC to Another  Process and components needed for transfering WeatherLink data from one computer to another. 
WeatherLink for Alarm Output  Strategies for using WeatherLink for Alarm Output for Vantage Pro and Vantage Pro2.
Setting Up a Remote Modem Connection (WL Serial)  Guidelines on how to set up a remote modem connection, which allows you to setup a weather station in a remote area and receive data at a more convenient location.