Weather station

Typical weather stations have the following instruments and sensors: In addition, at certain automated airport weather stations, additional instruments may be employed, including: More sophisticated stations may also measure the ultraviolet index, leaf wetness, soil moisture, soil temperature, water temperature in ponds, lakes, creeks, or rivers, and occasionally other data.

Personal weather stations typically involve a digital console that provides readouts of the data being collected.

This data is submitted through use of software, a personal computer, and internet connection (or amateur radio) and are utilized by groups such as the National Weather Service (NWS) when generating forecast models.

The Weather Underground Internet site is another popular destination for the submittal and sharing of data with others around the world.

The UK Met Office's Weather Observations Website (WOW) also allows such data to be shared and displayed.

Since the 1960s this role has been largely superseded by satellites, long range aircraft and weather buoys.

[11] With the decline of the weather ship, they have taken a more primary role in measuring conditions over the open seas since the 1970s.

[12] During the 1980s and 1990s, a network of buoys in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean helped study the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

The common instruments of measure are anemometer, wind vane, pressure sensor, thermometer, hygrometer, and rain gauge.

Some of these are basic to analyzing weather fronts and pressure systems, such as the synoptic observation network, while others are more regional in nature, known as mesonets.