Re: Radiation Shield accuracy
Posted: Fri 25 Jun 2010 10:24 pm
Hi Pete,
It's possible you have already ordered your daytime FARS unit and if so I hope it helps with your station accuracy.
OTOH, you might be recording accurate temperatures for your garden. I emphasise the last bit because of earlier discussions on this very thread about variations of temperature in a short distance not meaning any of them are wrong.
To clarify, Mark in Wilmslow, 4 miles south of me and 2-3 miles south of Manchester Airport consistently records higher maxima than both the airport and my station. But his station is always in the shade. How is this possible? It's probably just a sheltered garden. Just like yours is becoming.
That doesn't make your temperatures wrong and it's quite possible that adding a daytime FARS won't make much difference if the whole garden is warmed by its sheltered location. I had a similar thought thinking my garden - surrounded on three sides by houses - was in a local hot spot. But by raising the ISS by about 2 feet to around 6ft has made my readings more accurate. Comparing my maxima today to that of my reference station shows mine as 24.7C and his as 24.4C and his is still on his roof! Manchester Airport recorded a high of 24C but they only record to whole numbers. So with little wind today I'm still within 1C of an official Met Office station and with no daytime FARS.
I suppose I could add one before the VAT rise in January but it would only marginally improve my accuracy for an outlay of £150. Ouch!
Looking at your station photos I would say you're in the same position as Mark in Wilmslow in that your sheltered garden is warming the air but that your ISS is accurately recording the ambient temperature.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be interesting as they look to be the year's warmest days. Keep us posted on how your readings compare to surrounding stations. BTW, did you contact the owner of the nearby station who's readings were close to yours?
It's possible you have already ordered your daytime FARS unit and if so I hope it helps with your station accuracy.
OTOH, you might be recording accurate temperatures for your garden. I emphasise the last bit because of earlier discussions on this very thread about variations of temperature in a short distance not meaning any of them are wrong.
To clarify, Mark in Wilmslow, 4 miles south of me and 2-3 miles south of Manchester Airport consistently records higher maxima than both the airport and my station. But his station is always in the shade. How is this possible? It's probably just a sheltered garden. Just like yours is becoming.
That doesn't make your temperatures wrong and it's quite possible that adding a daytime FARS won't make much difference if the whole garden is warmed by its sheltered location. I had a similar thought thinking my garden - surrounded on three sides by houses - was in a local hot spot. But by raising the ISS by about 2 feet to around 6ft has made my readings more accurate. Comparing my maxima today to that of my reference station shows mine as 24.7C and his as 24.4C and his is still on his roof! Manchester Airport recorded a high of 24C but they only record to whole numbers. So with little wind today I'm still within 1C of an official Met Office station and with no daytime FARS.
I suppose I could add one before the VAT rise in January but it would only marginally improve my accuracy for an outlay of £150. Ouch!
Looking at your station photos I would say you're in the same position as Mark in Wilmslow in that your sheltered garden is warming the air but that your ISS is accurately recording the ambient temperature.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be interesting as they look to be the year's warmest days. Keep us posted on how your readings compare to surrounding stations. BTW, did you contact the owner of the nearby station who's readings were close to yours?