Weather station mounting question

[AdamJorgensen]

I picked up one of those Thermor measurement specialists weather stations from Wal*Mart the other day and are having trouble figuring out where and how to mount the wind sensor and rain gage. First of all, is anybody familiar with this particular weather station?

The problem with the area I live in is there's allot over growth of trees around and close to my house and I live in a 2 story house on top of a hill and the trees are still taller than the house. The only place I could put the wind sensor where it would be least effected by the trees and other obstructions is right on the back edge top roof of my house. How do you mount it to your roof if your roof isn't flat? How much will the tree tops effect it because at my roof top, the sensor will be at level if not a bit lower than the tree tops. They are rather close as well which doesn't help.

Also, because the trees overhang a good portion of my yard, its hard to find a place to put the rain gage where its not underneath any tree branches. The only places where there are no overhang is in the middle of my yard, or where the wind sensor is going to be mounted, so could the rain gage be mounted beside the wind sensor on the roof or should it be placed closer to the ground where it might be less effected by the wind? Or is wind really a factor for the rain sensor? Once your on top of my roof, its quite high and could get quite windy. I'm just thinking the rain gage wouldn't accurately measure the rainfall because the wind would blow the rain horizontally over the gage rather than just falling straight into it like it would near the ground. Is this a significant factor or should it be placed in a less windy area?

 

[B Ozanne]

On Mount Washington we have spent thousands of dollars researching the horizontal rain issue. For rain I've concluded that it doesn't matter. Even if the rain appears to be blowing sideways it is still falling. The rain eventually hits the ground. I suggest putting the rain gauge lower to the ground though. They tend to clogged with leaves and spider webs so you want easy access. It must be in the open though, under a tree canopy is bad.

Ideally you want your anemometer above the trees. 10 meters is the official measurement height, but that is hard for the average weather geek to obtain. Your wind measurements are obviously going to be lower than what you would expect at 10 meters.

 

[Tyler Allison]

Originally posted by AdamJorgensen
How do you mount it to your roof if your roof isn't flat? How much will the tree tops effect it because at my roof top, the sensor will be at level if not a bit lower than the tree tops. They are rather close as well which doesn't help.

Don't worry about the trees. Do the best you can and call it done. You could use this:

http://www.tvantenna.com/products/tvrecept...eavemounts.html

and then go to your local homedepot/lowes and pick up a TV mast of the appropriate height. You may want to consider grounding options...or not...some folks say it's a must..others dont.