[wxqc] Pole For Wind Gauge

[Gerry Creager]

Rich,

Rich Brunnworth wrote:
> Sometimes we tend to get caught up in the extremely fine points of 
> things when it is the overall picture that we are trying to see.
> 
> This whole discussion started about a question regarding various weather 
> stations and how to mount them.  Personally this is a hobby for me. I'm 
> more interested in how fast the wind may be blowing at a given time, or 
> how much rain we've had today, month to date, and year to date.

And I seriously hope that in practicing this hobby, it remains something 
that's fun and educational.  There's a lot to learn and I do so daily.

> The uploading of the data for someone else's use is a secondary issue to 
> me. The NWS may use some of the data, but the local television stations 
> don't. They have their "citizen reporters" that call in temperatures 
> around the broadcast times so you get an idea of what is happening in 
> that area if you live in the area that the citizen calls in from.

Actually, a large number of NWS WFO's do use APRS-wx and CWOP data for 
their work.  It might not get all the recognition it should but it's 
there.  Florida's WFOs have given a lot of recognition to these data.

And, as recently as Friday afternoon, a TV station's chief of 
meteorology in a major Texas market asked if she  and her colleagues 
could use CWOP data or was it restricted.  The density of stations in 
their area would be helpful to them, especially during severe weather 
cut-ins.

Adding to the interest, she also asked if we would accept her sites' 
data.  I said I'd be glad to ingest it.
> I also realize that many amateur weather stations are CWOP stations and 
> do upload their data to NWS for the enhancing of the overall NWS data.  
> One thing to keep in mind in all of this is that the majority of amateur 
> stations are in urban areas, not sitting on large lots, so the ideal 
> placement of equipment is very hard to attain.  I do the best I can with 
> what I have, and the restrictions of the area, and that is all that any 
> of us can do or ask for.

A couple of things happen when the data goes into MADIS.  One of the 
bigger ones is, it's subjected to a quality check that helps determine 
if it's consistent with reality (and nearby stations) or not.  That's 
valuable.

There's a publication written by Tim Oke for the World Meteorological 
Organization on siting weather instruments in urban environments. 
WMO-81 is referenced from the Resources page on www.wxqa.com, and can be 
downloaded directly from 
http://www.wmo.ch/web/www/IMOP/publications/IOM-81/IOM-81-UrbanMetObs.pdf 
in PDF format.  It speaks to what should be done to address siting 
problems arising from urban effect, and is applicable to siting in 
residential yards, building tops, urban canyons, etc.  I found it an 
excellent resource.

I'll speak only briefly to metadata, and hope that whenever someone 
changes their hardware they notify Russ so it can be updated, and when 
they move something, there's some documentation to fall back on. 
Metadata's important.  I tend to say that, "Without metadata, the 
information you present is not data."  In other words, to understand the 
data and correctly interpret it, it's vital to understand additional 
information about how and where it's collected.

Regards
Gerry
-- 
Gerry Creager -- gerry.creager at tamu.edu
Texas Mesonet -- AATLT, Texas A&M University
Cell: 979.229.5301 Office: 979.458.4020 FAX: 979.862.3983
Office: 1700 Research Parkway Ste 160, TAMU, College Station, TX 77843