[wxqc] WX Quality readings for K7SFN?

[Sandy and David Helms]

Hi Frank,

Just looking at the map of your area, I think you have a good case for a
micro-climate with mountains east (adiabatic winds), lake to the west
(moderating temps), and valley head to your north (drainage winds).  On the
issue of short time period differences between your station and others, that
is what make a micro-climate!

Given that you have changed your radiation shield this week, I'll withhold
judgement on performance until you have at least two weeks of statistics.

You have the same setup (Peet Ultimeter and WeatherDisplay with the "Pro"
rain gauge) as I, but I have the "stock" Gill shield.  The Peet Bros station
performs well most of the time, but I'm not too happy with the anemometer as
it has a small 3 inch tail which provides extremely vaiable wind direction
and it seem to have too much internal friction in the components so it under
reports mean wind speed in light winds.

Cheers,

Dave
CW0351

-----Original Message-----
From: wxqc-bounces at lists.gladstonefamily.net
[mailto:wxqc-bounces at lists.gladstonefamily.net]On Behalf Of Frank
Dziurda - K7SFN
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 11:35 PM
To: wxqc at lists.gladstonefamily.net
Subject: [wxqc] WX Quality readings for K7SFN?


 I have a couple of questions regarding the daily weather quality charts &
 emails I receive. I am trying to understand how this information can help
me
 provide more accurate data.

 I am located in a Valley between Reno and Carson City, Nevada.  The weather
here can often be quite different than either Reno or Carson City, so using
data from stations in these two cities, for comparison of what should be
happening here, might not be representative. In addition, a good part of
this valley is covered by Washoe Lake.  Due to the difference in altitude,
and the lake, our temperatures are generally cooler and the humidity higher.
Neither Reno or Carson City has any body of water that compares to Washoe
Lake. It also cools off here much quicker than in town. Some people refer to
this
place as having it's own micro-climate.  It is generally much windier here
than either Reno and Carson, hence the nickname Windy Washoe Valley. :-)
The only other weather station I can find on the NET in Washoe Valley to
compare my data with, is operated by the Nevada Dept of Transportation
(NDOT) http://www.nevadadot.com/traveler/rwis/rwis.asp?Id='NV6'  It is
located SW of me approximately 5-6 miles.  Many of the NDOT sites are in the
database, but not this one.

 Whenever I check my Barometric Pressure against NWS Reno, which is the
closest site that I trust to provide accurate information, they are within
.01-.02", yet the wzqa daily emails for 2/14/06 & 2/15/2006 show large
errors
between my actuals and the analysis. If I am tracking with NWS Reno, are
they off too?

 It is also quite curious that the dewpoint analysis readings between
2300 -2345 (2/14/06) changed so dramatically. At 2246Z the data was 22
/-0.86, yet 15 minutes later, at 2301Z it was 22/ -7.60.

 I am at a total loss as to why the temp readings between 0215 - 0545
(2/14/2006)
are so far off of those in the analysis.  That's late afternoon and it does
normally cool off here MUCH faster that in either Reno or Carson. Yesterday,
I constructed a new solar shield for my temp/humidity sensor and I believe
my readings are now truely representative of what is happening during the
day.
I have verified my temperature readings on several occassions, with two
other
thermometers, and they match the weather station within 1-2 degrees. The
temp/
humidity sensor is located inside a homemade solar shield per
http://weather.overflow.net.au/station/stevenson.htmll , mounted on a 5'
wood
post, in the clear, about 30' from my home. I used two 14" discs on top and
9 10" discs below it. The lower 8 discs have had their centers removed to
create
a cavity for the sensor.

At night, we get much colder than in town, and therefore get down to the dew
point.
Whenever I have recorded 100% humidity, I always have heavy frost all over
everything
in the morning.

I am using a  Peet Brothers Ultimeter 2100 weather station, which I assumed
to be a reasonably good system. All of the sensors are supposed to be of
good quality, so I have been told (but maybe not)? The weather station is
connected to a dedicated laptop computer running Weather Display software,
which provides data to the internet at 5 minute intervals 24/7.

Should I be more concerned about the BOLD error readings that are listed in
the daily
wxqa email or the "AS124 Summary", which has only one green checkmark
next to my barometric pressure readings. It appears to me that the "Summary"
is
contridicting the daily email. I have read throught the archives try to
solve what is
going on, but  cannot seem to come up with any answers that make sense to
me.

Thanks for your time answering my questions.  Any help or suggestions would
be
greatly appreciated.

Frank Dziurda
k7sfn at charter.net
Washoe Valley, Nevada



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