Data Logging

Engage

What is weather?. Weather simply refers to the condition of the air on earth at a given place and time, whether it is warm or cold, dry or wet, blowing or calm.  The condition of air and how it acts to create weather is influenced primarily by two things which are heat from the sun and water. Weather on earth starts with the sun.  The sun's heat warms our atmosphere and causes two things to happen. Firstly is water evaporates into the air and secondly is air rises.

As air rises, its temperature drops.  As the moisture in the air cools, it condenses into tiny suspended droplets, forming clouds.  The droplets inside the clouds become larger as more moisture is evaporated into the air.  Eventually, they are too heavy to remain suspended and fall to earth as precipitation which we noticed it as rain, snow, sleet or hail.

There are six main components, or parts, of weather. They are temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, precipitation, and cloudiness. Together, these components describe the weather at any given time. These changing components, along with the knowledge of atmospheric processes, help meteorologists—scientists who study weather—forecast what the weather will be in the near future.

The heat of the atmosphere is largely influenced by the sun and the degree to which it warms the air, land and oceans.  The land and water retain heat and continue to heat the atmosphere after the sun disappears.  Air temperature is measured with thermometers. The name is made up of the two words: "thermo" meaning heat and "meter" meaning to measure. Forecasters use information from a thermometer to predict temperatures in the near future and the potential for weather change.

This devise to measure air temperature is a basic weather instrument. It also measures atmosphere heat. Temperature is measured by gauging movement of molecules that make up the atmosphere. The faster they move, the more the temperature increases. A thermometer should not be placed in direct sun, because it will distort the results.

Temperature forecasts are important to the agriculture industry and utilities. Farmers depend on the weather for crop success: when to plant and when to harvest the crop. Also, utility companies can use this information to determine the demand on services that is to come. People use the weather forecast and temperature forecast in everyday life to plan their day, including what to wear. Meteorologists use thermometers as well as other instruments to determine air pressure, wind speed and precipitation, in order to predict the weather.

Weather forecasting is simply the use of scientific instruments to predict the weather. Those instruments include the thermometer, trend knowledge by experts, barometer and mathematical forecast models. Forecasters measure barometric pressure, temperature and atmospheric data and combine this information to predict the weather forecast. Most weather forecasts can be trusted up to 5 days into the future; beyond that, atmospheric conditions can't be read with certainty.

There are different types of weather instruments such as thermometer, hygrometer, barometer, anemometer, wind vane, rain gauge, and others. Thermometers measure air temperature. Because heat from the sun can adversely affect readings, place thermometers in a location protected from the sun. There are many types of thermometers, ranging from electronic digital thermometers to simple mercury-based ones.

A hygrometer measures the amount of vapor in the air, known as humidity. Hygrometers are available in both digital versions and traditional analog versions. A barometer is used to measure air pressure. Changes in air pressure can precede a large storm. Barometers tend to fall if rainy weather is imminent and rise if the weather soon will clear. An anemometer measures wind speed. Most anemometers are made of several cups that spin in the wind. The rotational speed of the device is measured to calculate wind speed. Anemometers often are paired with wind vanes to measure wind direction. A wind vane measures the direction of the wind. Wind pressure pushes a large surface to align the vane to the wind's direction. Classic wind vanes are sometimes mounted on top of houses or other buildings. Smaller, more modern wind vanes often are integrated into anemometers or complete weather-sensing stations.

Rain gauges measure the total amount of rain. Rain gauges can be as simple as a glass and a ruler, or as complex as a self-emptying, digital rain gauge. For accurate readings, place rain gauges in a location where they are not protected by trees and buildings. Psychrometers, or wet bulb thermometers, measure relative humidity. A psychrometer uses two thermometers, one bulb of which is covered with a wet cloth. As the cloth dries, the cooling effect of evaporation lowers the temperature on that thermometer. Then the temperatures on the two thermometers are compared on a special chart to find the relative humidity. Often, the relative humidity is the weather condition that makes people the most uncomfortable.

Radar is another major tool of weather observation and forecasting. It is used primarily to observe clouds and rain locally. One type of radar, called Doppler radar, is used at weather stations throughout the world. Doppler radar measures changes in wind speed and direction. It provides information within a radius of about 230 kilometers (143 miles). Conventional radar can only show existing clouds and precipitation. With Doppler radar, meteorologists are able to forecast when and where severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are developing.

Weather satellites can give more than just information about clouds and wind speeds. Satellites can see fires, volcanoes, city lights, dust storms, the effects of pollution, boundaries of ocean currents, and other environmental information. Radiosonde instruments are still more accurate than weather satellites. Satellites, however, can cover a larger area of the Earth. They also cover areas where there are no weather stations, like over the ocean. Satellite data have helped weather forecasts become more accurate, especially in the remote areas of the world that don’t have other ways to get information about the weather.

Empower

Title :

Detecting reliable analysis component for forecasting.

Objectives :

1.      To understand the uses of Auxiliary Sensor.

2.      To collect data on rainfall, wind and air of Auxiliary Weather Stations software.

Materials :

1.      Auxiliary sensor.

2.      Auxiliary Weather Stations software.

Introduction :

Our group have decided to do a data logging on forecasting. We had choose a few areas in our country as our focus area on forecasting the weather. The places are Sitiawan, Lubuk Merbau, Kuantan, Temerloh and Muadzam Shah. All the data that we got is from Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD). Malaysia have an equator weather due to its coordinate in the equator of the Earth. Which is wet and humid all over the year. Almost every country in world have their own Meteorological Department. So do Malaysia. There are many meteorological stations in Malaysia that known as Principal Meteorological Stations. Either in Peninsula or in Sabah and Sarawak.

Auxiliary Sensor and Auxiliary Weather Stations software both being related to each other. After the auxiliary sensor detected the component that wanted to measure, then it will be connected to it software which is Auxiliary Weather Stations software. This sensor and software are being used in all of meteorological stations that are also being connected and collected in MMD. The head quarters is situated in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. In Malaysia, we used Auxiliary as one of the detector to detect humidity and other factor that may lead to weather changing in Malaysia. Auxiliary can give us data logging that we need to analysis components to predict weather or known as forecasting.

Procedure :

1.      Make sure the Auxiliary Sensor being connected to Auxiliary Weather Stations software.

2.      Open Auxiliary Weather Stations software of Malaysian Meteorological Department.

3.      Set Sitiawan to identify rainfall, wind and air of the place chosen.

4.      For rainfall, record the data of rainfall of current hour and current day.

5.      For wind, record the speed and direction of wind.

6.      For air, record the temperature of air.

7.      Repeat step 3 to 6 for other areas which are Lubuk Merbau, Kuantan, Temerloh and Muadzam Shah.

8.      Collect the data.

Enhance

Adam wanted to go to England with his family for the holiday; he is living in Malaysia. But he does not know when the best month to go there is. He has some records about the annual temperatures in England. Help Adam to predict the weather in England so he is comfortable travel there. Adam needs to know all the seasons in England.

Britain is an island country and the surrounding sea gives England a varied climate. They never know what the weather will be like from one day to the other. It can be sunny one day and rainy the next. Englandhas such a variable climate changing from day to day; it is difficult to predict the weather. In general England has warm summers and cool winters. Their summers are cooler than those on the continent, but the winters are milder.

The overall climate in England is called temperate maritime. This means that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0ºC in winter and not much higher than 32ºC in summer.