How Weather Instruments and Information Can Save Your Life

When a man-eater storm is on the horizon, the only people who know for certain that it carries with it the possibility of being a deadly storm are the guys and gals who are looking at weather instruments such as radar, barometers, weather vanes, anemometers and such and assimilating that information into decipherable information that can be used to save lives.

Once the National Weather Service pulls data in from their multiple monitors located all over a county, that information must be placed into a format that can be seen as a chart, a picture or a comparison so that they weather forecasters can look at this information and spot the possibility of death producing storms.

We all make fun of the weatherman from time to time because the forecasts are not always right, but when it comes to killer storms and inclement weather, it's better to be safe than sorry. The weather person will always err on the side of caution so if a storm even has the slightest chance of causing havoc, the forecast will reflect this.

Weather instruments give imperative and essential information to all weather forecasters, even the amateur ones. It's not unusual to learn of a local amateur weather-bug who reads his instruments and realizes that a particular storm is just minutes from his own neighborhood, something the big NWS radars may not be able to determine, and is then able to warn his neighbors and get them to cover before something like a tornado rips the neighborhood apart. How did he know the storm was headed his way? He watched his barometer and his anemometer, two essential and basic weather instruments. They told him the storm was heading right for him and was getting very close. This kind of weather information can mean the difference between life and death in some cases.

A home weather station is easy to put together, fun to monitor and a challenge to forecast with. However once the amateur learns his instruments, from daily experience, it's not unusual for them to become avid almost to the point of obsessiveness because weather watching is often all consuming and a complete delight.

Of course, one needn't only do forecasting in order to enjoy a wireless home weather station. You can simply enjoy being able to watch all the instruments and be able to enjoy the fact that you can pretty much know when it's going to rain, snow, the wind blow or whatever condition is headed your way. An amazing hobby that can actually save lives and it's essentially inexpensive and easy to learn.

You've discovered how a local weather enthusiast can use his home weather station instruments in order to actually save lives. Now, think seriously about acquiring your own weather station or weather instruments and gathering your own weather information. It's also a great family activity. Kids love to learn about the various weather aspects.

ref: Vaughn_Dean_J_Lee