Weather instruments Flashcards
What is the instrument that measures wind speed
Anemometer
What does the anemometer do
Collects information on wind speed
What is a hand-held anemometer and what does it do
used to collect information about wind speed over a short period of time
held away from your body to ensure that they capture the full force of the wind speed
How does the Anemometer work
The wind catches the cup and spins them around
A counter is used to record the speed
How does a weather station anemometer work
They are mounted on a 10m pole to prevent it being affected by buildings
How can narrow walkways and buildings affect wind speed
Buildings - can shelter areas from the wind which decreases the actual wind speed
Narrow walkways - If the wind is forced through a narrow walkway it will increase the wind speed
What is the anemometer measured in
Knots
Kph
mph
Also from them all
What is the weather instrument that measures wind direction
Wind vanes
What do wind vanes do
collect information about where the wind is coming from
How do wind vanes work in a weather station
On the same 10m pole that the anemometer is on
Most are attached to a pole that has compass points mounted on it
The wind catches the tail of the wind vane and spins it round
How do you know the direction the wind is going in
The arrow of the wind vane points to the direction that the wind is going
What does the wind vane also tell us
The type of weather we are going to have
How do we know what type of weather we are going to have from wind vanes
Winds from the north are normally colder and damper as they come from over the sea
Whereas winds from the south are normally a bit warmer and drier as they come from over land
What are wind vanes measured in
compass points
What is the weather instrument that measures sunshine
The sunshine recorder
What does the sunshine recorder do
Records the amount of sunshine in a day
What is the unit for the sunshine recorder
hours
what are sunshine recorders
A glass ball with a metal frame behind them
A piece of waxed cards is attached to the frame
The wax card has a scale that measures hours
how do sunshine recorders work
The glass ball magnifies the sun rays
The heat burns a mark along the card each time the sun is out
Where is a sunshine recorder placed
mounted on a pillar elevated away from the ground so they capture the maximum amount of sunlight
They need to be right away from objects which could cover them
What instrument is used to measure precipitation
The rain gauge
What does the rain gauge measure
All forms of precipitation not just rain
What is the rain gauge measured in
ml (mm)
What do all rain gauges have on them
vessel with increments marked on it in millimeters
Why do some rain gauges have splash guards and why do you you prevent rain from splashing of the ground into the rain gauge
Rain gauges are used to prevent rain from dropping off the ground into the rain gauge
others are raised on posts eye level
What instrument is used to measure temperature
The maximum and minimum thermometer
Why does the maximum and minimum thermometer help meteorologists do
With the information it helps them combine weather forecast
helps with creating climate graphs at the end of the year
What unit do you measure the maximum and minimum thermometer
degrees celsius in the uk centigrade
How does the maximum and minimum thermometer work
The mercury in the thermometer moves in response to changing temperatures
A metal pin is pushed up to show the maximum and minimum temperatures for a day
The temperature is read from the bottom of the metal pin
What weather instrument is used to measure air pressure
Barometer
What unit of measurement does a barometer use
milibars
What is a barometer used for
To measure the air pressure of certain environments
how does a barometer work
When air pressure changes, the box becomes distorted which triggers a mechanism that will move the hand according to that pressure
