As we move toward the holiday season, some people are starting to think about what gift to get the weather enthusiast in their life.
As Canadians, and especially anyone in agriculture, we love talking about the weather. The next step after talking is to measure it and if possible, share that information with the public.
Let’s look at just a few weather stations that are available, ranging from budget-friendly to high-end professional, keeping in mind that a wide variety of brands and models are available.
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For those just starting out, I came across a new weather station called the VEVOR 5 in 1 weather Station for around $99.
It provides wireless measurements of indoor and outdoor temperature, wind, rainfall and humidity.
Because I have not used this particular brand, or know of anyone who has, I cannot comment on quality or reliability.
Next up is the La Crosse Wireless Weather Forecaster Station. It costs about $75 and is available at Canadian Tire.
This weather station offers a bright, easy-to-read display and outdoor sensors that measure temperature, humidity and wind speed but not rainfall.
If you are not too worried about measuring wind and rainfall but would rather have multiple temperature and humidity sensors, then the AcuRite 02082M Home Temperature and Humidity Station, for about $105, delivers three sensors and is known for good sensor accuracy and handles cold winters well.
Moving up to more mid-range weather stations, these tend to cover the usual weather readings but also add in connectivity, which allows you to access your data remotely and usually anyone else.
The Explore Scientific 5-in-1 WiFi Professional Weather Station, coming in at around $200, brings real-time data for wind, rain, humidity and temperature straight to your phone or tablet.
The Ambient Weather WS-2000, for about $490, steps further with a vivid console and wifi connectivity to services such as Weather Underground.
As some of you may know, I own an Ambient system and discovered that its weather stations are rebranded Ecowitt stations, with the Ecowitt station often priced much cheaper. I leave it up to you as to which brand you might be interested in.
For rugged dependability, the Davis Vantage Vue, for roughly $550, is built to survive any type of Prairie weather, earning a reputation for professional-grade accuracy in a compact form.
For those who want high-quality data and dependable systems, Davis leads the field.
The Vantage Pro2, for about $1,400, features precision instruments for wind, rainfall, pressure, and temperature, producing data consistent enough for research or local reporting.
Its big sibling, the Vantage Pro2 Plus (around $2,000), adds UV and solar sensors, making it very suitable for agriculture. This is the station I owned for years before it finally stopped working and I just couldn’t find it in me to spend that much money to replace it.
If a home weather station is in your future, figure out what you want in your station and do your research. If you are unsure, start with a budget friendly station and then see where you go from there.
