Becoming your own low bucks Meterorologist

[eDJ_]

In my Boy Scouting days I learned about weather when out in the wild.  I thought it may be worthwhile
to start a thread about some inexpensive things that can be made or purchased inexpensively, and carried
along as a kit to enable a traveler to be safe with regards to weather.

Today most of us rely on a Cell Phone, Lap Top, or Weather Radio but we have to bear in mind that those
measurements may be taking place miles away from our own location.   For a few bucks  we can purchase
some sportsman's devices and make simple tools almost free.

A Sportsman's digital LCD compass with altimeter, barometer, clock, weather forecast, time , calendar, thermometer ,and back light  can be purchased for around $20 dollars.   The barometer is automatically
corrected by the altimeter.   

Inexpensive thermometers with Hygrometers can be found at Dollar Tree



Making a simple weather vane  can be accomplished with a plastic straw, some card board, a pencil, a straight pin, and some cellophane tape.  The sharp end of the pencil can be placed into a paper cup and filled with sand or small pebbles.   This Youtube video shows how easy. 



With a barometer reading and wind direction you can use this scale to determine the weather events in your own area

USA Today Using winds and a barometer to make forecast

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/wfbarrow.htm


If you wonder about the wind speed there is a system which only uses your observation  of the environment to determine the approximate wind speed.

The Beaufort wind scale of approximate wind speed

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html

if on land

http://www.almanac.com/beaufort-wind-force-scale#

Some interesting devices are made for school kids which may be inexpensive enough and have some
merit for the traveling Meterologist.  One such device contains a thermometer reading in F & C,  a rain gauge,
a body that acts as a wind vane and horizontal flap that serves as a wind speed gauge.  $8 dollars.

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/mini-weather-station

This would provide for a means to measure your barometric pressure,
Wind Direction, Wind Speed, Temperature, Humidity, and Rain Fall.

Again, if you're out boondocking and far from a Town where the Radio or TV station is reporting the
weather conditions there,  that information may be of little beneficial to you. 

This bit is from a Readers Digest  and it regards paying attention to your environment to
gain insights about the weather in your locality.

Crickets can tell you the temperature

A chorus of chirps at night isn't just lovely atmosphere—it's a musical thermometer, too. Studies have shown that crickets regulate the rhythm of their chirps based on the temperature outside. According to the Farmer's Almanac, to convert Cricket to Fahrenheit, count the number of chirps you hear in 14 seconds, then add 40. (It's shockingly accurate.)


Storm heading your way? Count between the lighting and thunder

Light travels much faster than sound (186,291 miles per second versus 1,088 feet per second) and the difference between the two can give you a fair measure of distance. As soon as you see a flash of lighting, start counting the seconds until you hear the roar of thunder. Divide the number of seconds by five, and you’ll know how many miles away from you lightning just struck. Try this trick a few times in a row, and you'll know right away whether a storm is coming or going.


Birds fly higher in fair weather

Most birds possess what is called the Vitali organ, a special middle-ear receptor that senses extremely minute changes in air pressure. As atmospheric pressure falls before a storm, birds fly lower or huddle on telephone wires to escape the sudden pressure in their heads. If you see a flock flying high in the sky, chances are it’s nice weather, ahoy.


Halo around the moon? Storm's comin' soon

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there is some merit to the old folk saying, "when a halo rings the moon or sun, rain's approaching on the run." A so-called halo forms around the moon when ice crystals from high-altitude cirrus clouds reflect and refract incoming light. Cirrus clouds don't bring rain, but they are a good indication that a low-pressure warm front is a few days away, often with a storm in tow.

When you are in camp,  are you concerned much with the weather ?  For your comfort or safety ?

Myself, I'd print out the USA Today Barometer & wind forecasting page, and the Beaufort scale to have
in a kit with the sportsman's digital compass if I were going to be on the road full time.  I'd still have my electronic devices if I were closer to a Town where the report would be accurate.  Like staying on a Walmart parking lot.

 

[compassrose]

I have this small "weather station" in my bus for temps and barometric pressure. Compared to the local results on www.wunderground.com they are pretty much the same readings.

For the other stuff, I use Mike's Spaghetti Models page. It's a bit cluttered but all the sites I need to look at are there. The only thing I am really interested in is hurricanes. To forecast a track and landing, I need to look at the jet stream, pressure systems and storm tracking maps. I need enough time to leave out and head about 100 miles inland before I stop and recalculate my route. While I might ride out a strong tropical storm in the bus, I would not want to attempt even a cat 1 hurricane. Nor do I see any reason why I should. My home has wheels for a reason.

 

[highdesertranger]

eDJ I have one of these.



surprisingly accurate.  highdesertranger

 

[eDJ_]

LOL  highdesertstranger.....we have those here too.  We call em Appalachian Weather Stations. 

But really,  I've had an interest if basic meterorogy since I was a kid in Boy Scouts and in CAP (civil air patrol)
I used to find it amazing how the older aviators could look at the sky and get clues about the weather to come. I guess it's sort of a hobby. 

I've found it a handy survival skill to have as it assures good judgment.  Just as compassrose suggest in utilizing  her resources.  By the way that "Wunderground" and "MikesSpaghettiModels" are quite notable. 

I think about the photos of people trying to get out of NOLA before Katrina hit in all that bumper to bumper traffic which went on for miles. Understanding weather could have given any of them days of head start so they could have avoided that misery.

I remember as a kid the Pilots always calling the Airport to talk with the Weather Men to keep tabs on the conditions of the areas where they were filing flight plans stating their intended destinations there.  Of course
this was pre internet, Cell, and Weather Channel. 

That's when I was a Boy Scout and working on my Weather Merit Badge.  This is the kind of stuff I had to learn.

But this was the kind of stuff I was working on between 14 and 15.

Weather Merit Badge BSA

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/m

 

[ccbreder]

everyone else just reinterprets this information. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-80.13869&lat=26.07324#.VgKtepd6TIV

 

[highdesertranger]

ccbreder is exactly correct. all the forecasts, base maps, radar, and satellite photos come from the National Weather Service(NWS). they run the weather radio stations and issue the weather alerts. all other sources are second hand interpretations. that's "ALL OTHER". now if you prefer another source because you find it more user friendly, that's fine. actually there are a few and I mean a very few private Doppler radars. highdesertranger

 

[WriterMs]

Thanks for putting all of that info together, eDJ. I found it interesting and I had no idea a couple of those tools could be had for so little.

I doubt I'd get into it nearly as much as you, but I would like to build my awareness of my surroundings in general .. including knowing the weather that is literally all around me.

 

[compassrose]

Most of the stuff on the Spaghetti models page IS from NOAA. But sometimes it's difficult navigating the NOAA website. What Mike's page does is put it all there and all I do is click on what I want.

 

[eDJ_]

WriterMs wrote:

Thanks for putting all of that info together, eDJ. I found it interesting and I had no idea a couple of those tools could be had for so little.

I doubt I'd get into it nearly as much as you, but I would like to build my awareness of my surroundings in general .. including knowing the weather that is literally all around me.

Thank you ! 

As a kid/Boy Scout,  I was around a lot of learned people who assisted in my advancement in scouting.
Later I was in more advanced scouting in the wilderness while being on foot by myself or with small groups putting those things I had learned into use to demonstrate proficiency.   It's hard for me to believe, when I look back now, that I was doing these things at 15 years of age. 

What really reinforced the importance of Weather in my mind was when around the aviators I knew.  Those
Guys could all but look at the sky and read the upcoming weather.   To me that is an art that most folks don't even know exist.   But those people know that their very life and passenger's lives depend upon their know how.   I used to listen to the story one pilot told of a 90+ year old "Teamster". (today UPS truck drivers do  his job but he had horses and a wagon and slept under the wagon at night all year only coming home on the week end)   This pilot had learned meteorology in the Air Force and was so amazed that the old Teamster had learned more than he knew from his years of living and traveling outdoors.  He said the old gentleman was quick to admit that men he had known before him had shared much of their knowledge with him back in the day.

But the point of this is to demonstrate that with some simple and inexpensive items and a little knowledge, one can have some idea of what the weather will present us in the coming hours.    Should the worst happen and we don't have our Cell's and the internet,  it may be nice to "be prepared".   But lets hope that never happens.

But for those of who are on the road and in the elements, safety should be our first concern.  It is easy to lose track of that.

Another website I'd offer for long range weather forecast is this one.  It works with drop down boxes.  You enter your state, city, year, month, and present date + 7  in the last box.  This site has about an 85% accuracy rate.

http://theweatherwiz.com/

 

[highdesertranger]

eDJ I really didn't mean to make fun of your intentions with my smart ass post. I see you take this very seriously and I applaud you for that. I am also in 100% agreement with people learning these skills. I am fair at this myself. I have a wind gauge, thermometer, and barometer. however the barometer is broke at the moment. I am also fair at reading the signs in the sky. so I just wanted to let you know I wasn't just blowing you off, you have some good info in this thread. highdesertranger

 

[eDJ_]

highdesertstranger,  LOL  

No worries.    

For me weather & safety are just a second nature having learned to respect it as a kid.  It's not something I'm passionate about but just the same it's a skill like being able to operate a car or Van.

I  though it would be in the interest of the members to address this need that I hadn't seen discussed previously.  It can be done more inexpensively and easily than people might realize.  Even a boost in one's self confidence can come as a bonus by learning these skills.   

Many people feel vulnerable to personal attacks from strangers so they take fire arms courses at shooting ranges to be prepared.  In fact they may be more likely to be in harms way from daily weather events.