Data Quality Checking System
To reach the table of your data, it is enough to go in menu "Weather Maps" then "Weather Overview" and to choose "Your country". There, you obtain the stations on line, according to the refreshment that you indicated in the general options of screen settings.
If you click on your station, you get the "Weather Data from station…” On bottom of this page, you have a new link "go to quality checking system". While clicking above, you obtain your page showing your curve for the probe concerned (blue colour) and the arithmetic average of the nearest stations indicated in left column (green curve).
You can choose your probe and thus see the diversions which exist.
CAUTION:
The radius of cover area of the nearest stations from yours is approximately 50 to 60 kilometres as the crow flies. It may be possible that you have no stations near yours if you are "isolated".
This is normal otherwise the calculated curves would not have any meaning for your station. The weather of London is not this one of Cambridge or Dover... It is obvious that the accuracy of the quality system is directly in relation with the number of stations, which surround you.
CORRECTION OF YOUR PROBLEM in event of locking:
Apart from a probe which strongly derives and which it will be necessary for you to change to correct the problem, the most frequent errors are errors of measuring units. Go to your user profile data for checking of your unit setting and possibly correct it.
Another source of error can be connected from the communication of the data; this one must be specific and exceptional. If it is permanent, thank you for checking the outlet file format sent to Web or read on line by AWEKAS (see in Help and Guides purpose for the concerned sotware you are running).
At last, the installation of a probe can be sensitive to the recorded measure:
- An anemometer must normally be located approximately 10 meters from the ground level and without any obstacle in a radius of 40 meters. If you have tree, house, pylon, and that your software allows it, correct measures for the sector of angle concerned by putting a correction factor in the parameter input of your program package.
If your anemometer is installed on the roof of your home, it must be at least 2 to 2,50 meters above the top of the ridge, or else you can have an angle of attack by effects of slope of the roof. That is all the more sensitive if you are in downtown or housing estate.
Please, check also if you are using small or large cup on your anemometer.
- An external temperature sensor must be placed in the middle of a ground at approximately 1,50 meters-height from a turfed ground. The free space around the probe must be 10 meters-radius at least. If you have an obstacle in the vicinity (wall, bush, shrub...), your measurement will be wrong.
If your probe is installed on a concreted or tiled terrace, you will have a significant impact for the measurement between true and recorded. Put a correction factor to return to the normal. It is the same thing if this one is installed on the front wall of your home, and much more if it is the southern wall.
- A rain gauge must be installed to 1,00 to 1,20 meters from the ground level and free of any obstacle on a radius of 15 meters at least. Do cleaning of the filter grid if there is one, you will avoid a "drip measurement". You will thus avoid a possible evaporation, which will be more significant if the body of your rain gauge is black.
Check also the calibration setting and/or adaptation between metric and US system.
- A pressure probe can be in an unspecified place, generally integrated into the console of the weather station. If this one strongly deviates in a nonlinear way with the average of the stations, you will have no choice except to replace it.
If that deviates in a parallel way, check the value that you put to correct it for the sea level, directly in connection with the elevation of your station. Look at the unit used (m or ft).
If the elevation is correct and the deviation is parallel, then introduce a correction factor into the setting of your software when it allows it.
There are many other causes, but these first remarks indicated above correct nearly 80% of the encountered problems.
For more information please read AWEKAS - How to install a weather station ?
Best Regards,
Meteo-Dinan
