The Gungahlin Weather Centre grows from humble beginnings!

The Gungahlin Weather Centre developed from humble beginnings when it began recording daily temperature and rainfall data in March 1997.   The original weather monitoring equipment was modest, and consisted of a standard maximum/minimum thermometer and rain gauge.

Despite the modest nature of the equipment, all data was validated each day by comparing it to readings obtained at the official Bureau of Meteorology monitoring station at Canberra Airport.   All readings were found to be consistent to within +/- 2°C of the Airport readings.   I considered this to be acceptable, especially given the different site conditions and Gungahlin's increased altitude.

In January 1999, I constructed and installed a "weather box" (pictured at left), which was designed to act like a "Stevenson Screen", and to provide even more accurate temperature readings.   This was achieved because the weather box allowed for airflow, while keeping radiated heat to a minimum.

The weather box housed a Radio shack digital maximum/minimum thermometer, which constantly monitored both current and high/low temperatures.   This data was automatically sent to a console inside the house.

With the inclusion of the weather box temperature data was deemed to be accurate to within +/- 1°C.

In January 2002, the Gungahlin Weather Centre "came of age", when it purchased and installed a "Wireless Vantage Pro Weather Station" from Davis Instruments (pictured at left).

Davis Instruments are located in the San Francisco Bay area of the United States (near Silicon Valley) and were founded by Bill Davis in 1963.   At the time, the company offered just thirteen products - including innovative plastic sextants and yachting speedometers.   Today, Davis Instruments manufacture and sell several hundred distinct items used by boaters, meteorologists, farmers and educators.

The Vantage Pro Wireless Weather Station that is installed at the Gungahlin Weather Centre is made up of the Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS), the Vantage Pro Console (the actual weather data display) and the WeatherLink software (used to log all the weather data and provide detailed daily/monthly/yearly reports and graphics.

The wireless Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) is solar powered and measures all of the following weather variables:

Outside Temperature (updates every 10 seconds).

Outside Humidity (updates every 60 seconds).

Wind Speed (updates every 2.5 seconds).

Wind Direction (updates every 2.5 seconds).

Rainfall (updates every 10 seconds).

The Wireless Vantage Pro Weather Station installed at the Gungahlin Weather Centre provides extremely accurate weather recordings.

The temperature/humidity sensors are located within the ISS, and are housed in a radiation shield to protect them from radiated heat. The ISS also contains an automatic rain gauge, which records rain in 0.1mm increments - it even empties itself!

The anemometer sits at the top of the ISS and records wind speeds from as little as 1.6km/h.   It also records the direction from which the wind is coming.

With the combined power of the ISS, Vantage Pro Console and the WeatherLink software the Gungahlin Weather Centre is able to continually monitor, and report on:

Barometric Pressure.

Barometric Trend.

Inside/Outside Humidity.

Dew Point.

Daily and Storm Rainfall.

Monthly and Yearly Rainfall.

Rainfall Rate.

Outside/Inside Temperature.

Temperature Trend.

Heat Index.

Wind Direction.

Wind Speed.

Compass Rose.

Moon Phase.

Sun Rise/Sun Set.

Rainfall.

Daily Forecast.

An hourly report on most of these variables is logged and stored in the Gungahlin Weather Centre's database.   A copy of this data is available upon request.   Please contact the Gungahlin Weather Centre for more information.

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