What is a meteorological station? Meteorological station: types, instruments and devices, observations made

Everything depends on the weather. The first thing most services do when starting work is to ask for a weather forecast. The life of our planet, an individual state, a city, companies, enterprises and every person depends on the weather. Moving, flights, the work of transport and public services, agriculture and everything in our lives is directly dependent on weather conditions. A high-quality weather forecast cannot be made without the readings collected by a meteorological station.

What is a weather station?

It's hard to imagine modern state without a special meteorological service, which includes a network of weather stations that conduct observations, on the basis of which short-term or long-term weather forecasts are made. In almost all parts of the planet there are meteorological stations that conduct observations and collect data used in meteorological forecasts.

A weather station is an institution that performs certain measurements atmospheric phenomena and processes. Subject to measurement:

weather properties such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, cloudiness, precipitation;
weather phenomena such as snowfall, thunderstorm, rainbow, calm, fog and others.

In Russia, as in other countries, there is an extensive network of meteorological stations and posts distributed throughout the country. Observatories carry out certain observations. Every meteorological station must have a special site where instruments and instruments for carrying out measurements are installed, as well as a special room for recording and processing readings.

Meteorological Measurement Tools

All measurements are taken daily and meteorological ones are used. What functions do they perform? First of all, the following instruments are used at weather stations:

Well-known thermometers are used. They come in several types: to determine air temperature and soil temperature.
To measure atmospheric pressure, a barometer is required.
An important indicator is the humidity with a hygrometer. The simplest weather station monitors air humidity.
To measure the direction and speed of the wind, you need an anemometer, in other words a weather vane.
Precipitation is measured by a rain gauge.

Instruments used at weather stations

Some measurements need to be carried out continuously. For this purpose, instrument readings are used. All of them are recorded and entered into special journals, after which the information is submitted to Roshydromet.

A thermograph is used to continuously record air temperature.
A psychrometer is used for continuous joint recording of temperature and air humidity readings.
Air humidity is continuously recorded by a hygrometer.
Barometric changes and readings are recorded by a barograph.

There are also a number of instruments that measure specific indicators, such as cloud base, evaporation level, sunshine index and much more.

Types of weather stations

The majority of meteorological stations belong to Roshydromet. But there are a number of departments whose activities directly depend on the weather. These are maritime, aviation, agricultural and other departments. As a rule, they have their own weather stations.

Weather stations in Russia are divided into three categories. The third category includes stations whose work is carried out according to a reduced program. A second-class station collects, processes and transmits data. Stations of the first category, in addition to everything mentioned, have an operation control function.

Where are the weather stations located?

Weather stations are located throughout Russia. As a rule, they are located at a distance from large cities in desert, mountain, forest areas, where the distance from the meteorological station to settlements big.

If the area is remote and deserted, then station workers go there on long business trips for the whole season. It is difficult to work here, since it is, for the most part, the north of Russia, impassable mountains, deserts, Far East. Living conditions are not always suitable for family living. Therefore, workers have to live away from people for many months. Depending on their location, weather stations can be classified as: hydrological, aerometeorological, forest, lake, swamp, transport and others. Let's look at some of them.

Forest

For the most part, forest weather stations are designed to prevent forest fires. Located in the forest, they collect not only traditional weather observations, but also these meteorological stations monitor the humidity of trees and soil, the temperature component at various levels of forests. All data is processed and modeled special card indicating the most fire hazardous areas.

Hydrological

Weather observations on various parts of the Earth's water surface (seas, oceans, rivers, lakes) are carried out by hydrological weather stations. They can be located on the mainland shore of the sea and ocean, a ship that is a floating station. In addition, they are located on the banks of rivers, lakes, and swamps. The readings from these weather stations are extremely important because, in addition to providing weather forecasts for sailors, they allow long-term weather forecasts for the area.

The weather station in the village of Kon-Kolodez is one of the oldest in the Lipetsk region. They started observing the weather here more than 120 years ago in an agricultural school opened by the Voronezh zemstvo together with the department of agriculture and rural industry.

2. The weather station changed its location several times, and this house on Lenin Street has been occupied since 1957.

3. Meteorologists here monitor the weather conditions, temperature, wind direction and speed, atmospheric pressure, visibility, humidity, and precipitation. Employees transmit the information received 8 times a day to the interregional hydrometeorology center of the Central Black Sea Region in Kursk.

4. According to its characteristics, the station in Kon-Kolodez belongs to the reference, that is, base stations. Observation is carried out in a small fenced area where meteorological instruments are installed.

Let's take a closer look at some of them.

5. Extractive soil-depth thermometers - for measuring soil temperature at different depths. This mercury thermometers, placed in special tubes. They are visible in the foreground, and there are 8 of them in total. The longest thermometer measures the temperature at a depth of as much as 3.20 meters.

6. Meteorological booth designed to protect instruments from exposure atmospheric precipitation, wind, solar radiation.

The booth is made of wood and painted White color so that it reflects as much as possible Sun rays and heated up as little as possible. For ventilation, the walls of the booth are made in the form of blinds, consisting of separate slats: air must pass through without stagnating. In addition, the installation height of the booth from the surface of the ground matters - it is taken to be 2 meters.
In such a booth they place, for example, a psychrometer, a hygrometer - instruments for measuring air humidity, as well as a thermograph - a recorder that records changes in air temperature.

7. Thermometers for measuring soil surface temperature; for this, an area without vegetation cover is used. There are several thermometers here: maximum, minimum and urgent. The maximum is mercury, where there is a capillary with a narrowing that prevents reverse flow mercury as the temperature drops. Thus, it is measured highest temperature during the observation period.

The minimum is alcohol, also with a special design that allows you to measure lowest temperature during the period.
Urgent - no tricks, it shows the current soil surface temperature.

8. Tretyakov precipitation gauge - a device for measuring precipitation. The design is a vessel that is protected from the wind by metal petal strips. And the amount is expressed by the thickness of the layer of sediment trapped in the vessel, in millimeters.

9. On high masts there are instruments that monitor the wind.

10. Wild weather vane is an indispensable attribute of any weather station.

From bottom to top here: horizontal pins oriented along the main sides of the horizon, the letter “C”, respectively, points to the north; a weather vane that rotates freely under the influence of the wind, its counterweight ball shows the direction of the wind; on the top there is a metal plate that deviates from the vertical under the influence of the wind - the angle of deflection determines the wind speed.

Currently, such a device is usually used as a backup, for example, in the event of a failure of a more modern anemorummeter.

11. Anemorumbometer is used for remote sensing wind speed and direction. There is a wind sensor at the match, and a remote control on the meteorologist’s desk. Reliable and accurate device that works in any weather.

12. Propeller anemometer - measures wind speed, which is determined by the number of revolutions of the turntable.

13. The most interesting device- heliograph, for recording the intensity and duration of sunshine during the day.

14. A glass lens ball collects the sun's rays, focuses them and directs them onto a concave strip. If the sun is not covered by clouds, then as a result of the daily movement of the sun, a clear straight stripe is burned on the tape. When the sun is covered by clouds, the burn becomes weaker or stops altogether. The total length of the burn on the tape is used to determine the duration of sunshine in hours per day.

15. Ice machine - an installation for measuring ice, frost and wet snow deposits on wires; consists of wires stretched on poles in two mutually perpendicular directions. As soon as any deposits appear, the observer periodically measures their thickness and even weight.

16. This appears to be a pyranometer for measuring solar radiation.

17. Gate of the weather site.

Contrary to popular belief, meteorology is an exact science. Weather forecasts are made based on measurements and calculations using special formulas. Specialists are responsible for each forecast. RIA Voronezh correspondents found out who is responsible for weather forecasts in the region and how their daily work is structured.

Who “makes the weather” in the Voronezh region?

The weather service of the Voronezh region employs about 150 specialists. There are 10 stations in the region that are part of the state meteorological network, and 15 water-measuring posts for monitoring the condition of water bodies. The weather service collects data on the condition environment so that weather forecasters can formulate a forecast based on them.

How does the forecast of the state weather service differ from the forecasts of private companies?

Only specialists from the state meteorological service have an observation network. Private companies make forecasts based on data they have already collected. Only the forecast of the State Meteorological Service is considered an official forecast.

How is the forecast prepared?

We work on the weather forecast in three stages. This is the collection of data on weather changes at weather stations, the compilation of a world weather map and direct forecasts for individual territories.

All weather stations in the world carry out observations several times a day. The collected information is sent to data centers in Moscow, Washington and Melbourne. To observe processes in the atmosphere, meteorologists launch balloons that automatically send information every three hours. The world's data centers exchange information with each other. Based on this data, weather maps are created for the whole world. Meteorologists make observations at the same time, using the same methodology, with the same instruments installed at the same altitude. This is important so that results obtained in different places can be compared correctly.

The advent of the Internet has greatly simplified the work of meteorologists. But even when information was transmitted via telegraph, meteorologists were not forgiven for unpunctuality.

– When automatic weather stations appeared, work became a little easier. But it is impossible to completely exclude a person from the process of observing the weather, because, in addition to meteorological characteristics, we record the time of the onset of rain. Technology cannot do this. There is always a person next to the automatic weather station who also monitors the weather,” explained the head of the Voronezh Hydrometeorological Center, Alexander Sushkov.

What does an observation meteorologist do?

The stationary weather station in Voronezh employs four observers, an agrometeorologist and a station manager. The weather observer's shift lasts a day and begins with the receipt of information and documents from the previous duty officer. It reports on the health of the devices, emergency situations, if there were any during the shift, about the number of telegrams sent.

The working day is scheduled minute by minute. IN busy schedule There is often no time for a break or lunch.

– Measurements are carried out strictly according to regulations. Thus, the temperature must be measured 10 minutes before sending the information, 15 minutes before the due date the temperature is recorded using exhaust thermometers, 2 minutes before the date the temperature is recorded Atmosphere pressure. A walk through all weather instruments takes an experienced observer about 10 minutes. A telegram with the results of the inspection must be sent within a strictly established time frame – not a minute later,” emphasized Valery Shtondin, head of the Voronezhagro weather station.

Measurements are recorded in special journals with a pencil, because it does not fade over the years, does not spread when wet, and does not fade in the sun.

There is a lot of work between the three-hour data recordings. The weather changes and this needs to be recorded. When it starts to rain, the observer must place an empty container at the weather site. The sediment is collected in a vessel to determine the acidity level. At least eight ozone observations. Another four times a day you need to determine the level of evaporation. And wet a strip of cambric cloth attached to a wet thermometer, which determines air humidity, eight times.

What instruments do meteorologists use?

Using dry and wet thermometers, meteorologists determine the level of air humidity in the warm season at an air temperature of at least -10 degrees. In winter, this indicator is measured using a hygrometer. The hygrometer is tense female hair, associated with the arrow. When stretched or compressed, the device displays the humidity value. When humidity is high, hair stretches, and when humidity is low it contracts.

There is an area at the weather site that imitates arable land. The station employees “plow up” it. Three thermometers were installed on the site, measuring soil temperature (maximum, minimum and current) and a thermometer that shows the temperature in the arable layer. The greatest depth at which temperature is measured is 3.5 m. Temperature all year round at this depth it changes slightly - in winter it drops to +4.5 degrees, in summer it rises to +6.

The Voronezh weather station operates the only ozonometer in the central Black Earth Region, which determines the thickness of the ozone layer. Data received in Voronezh are sent to the regions of the Black Earth Region.

Once a day, radioactive impurities in the air are measured using gauze stretched over a frame. It is strictly forbidden to touch or shake the fabric.

Every day at 8:00 the gauze is removed and sent in a sealed bag to a chemical laboratory in Kursk. Laboratory specialists burn gauze and determine the presence of radioactive elements in the air and their quantity in the ashes.

Special containers installed on the site are used to measure precipitation. Each vessel has its own purpose: determining the amount of precipitation, intensity of evaporation, chemical composition water. In winter, meteorologists install a device to monitor the formation of ice.

The direction and speed of the wind is recorded by an anemometer.

Atmospheric pressure at a weather station is measured using a mercury barometer. The device readings are recorded every three hours. Changes in pressure are recorded by a barograph. He “draws” the measurement curve on a special tape.

Insert photo barograph

Who are agrometeorologists?

It is believed that the first meteorologists were agronomists. IN agriculture result . These days, not every weather station can boast of having an agrometeorologist on its staff. The Voronezhagro weather station was once and still is located in the area of the university’s experimental gardens, so the weather station has workplace agrometeorologist. Thanks to the observations carried out by this specialist, the Voronezh Hydrometeorological Center can give official forecasts for the harvest.

The methods that the agrometeorologist uses for his measurements are quite primitive and simple, but more accurate methods have not yet been invented, says Valery Shtondin. For example, a special drying cabinet helps determine the level of soil moisture.

– We observe three fields: winter wheat and two plow fields. In each field, you need to take soil from a depth of 100 cm. Wells are drilled by hand, and the soil is placed in special numbered aluminum containers. The container with the soil is weighed and placed in a drying cabinet. After the moisture evaporates, it is weighed again, and the resulting difference gives the agrometeorologist an idea of the soil moisture,” explained the head of the meteorological station.

What is a weather balloon?

To observe processes in the atmosphere, meteorologists launch balloons that record changes every three hours. The probe rises to a height of up to 40 km, measures wind speed and direction, humidity and transmits this data to meteorologists on the ground.

Inside the probe there is a receiver, transmitter and humidity sensor. The first probes weighed more than 5 kg, modern devices are much lighter - about 100 g.

To launch into the atmosphere, the probe is tied with a rope to a balloon filled with hydrogen. The diameter of the ball is 1.5 m. The ball is launched twice a day - at 3:00 and at 15:00 in the area of the Voronezh aircraft plant.

At the height to which the ball rises, the temperature drops to -55.7 degrees. The rubber shell of the ball is destroyed at such a low temperature, and the probe falls to the ground.

Before launching the probe, meteorologists will find out if there are any particularly important flights at that time. The balloon is sent only after permission is received. Each probe has its own number and passport, which can be used to determine which station it was launched from. The closest weather stations to Voronezh, where probes are launched, are located in Kalach and Kursk.

Previously, when launching a balloon, the aerologist had to send a signal to the balloon. The probe received the signal and responded. The received signal had to be decoded, the location of the ball calculated with a ruler, the information encoded and transmitted higher authorities to Kursk. Now what is happening with the probe is visible on the screen, information from it is sent automatically.

Can portable electronic weather stations replace meteorologists?

According to Alexander Sushkov, electronic weather stations from electronics stores have rather low measurement accuracy - they cannot be equated with certified instruments that meteorologists use in their work.

– If I bought a scalpel at a medical equipment store, this does not give me the right to perform operations. Same with household appliances. They can only be used for private observations, but not for industrial purposes,” emphasized Alexander Sushkov.

Household weather stations are only suitable for personal weather observations. This is the simplest electronics that can only show actual weather data: air humidity, temperature and atmospheric pressure. And by changing the pressure level you can predict the approach of rain.

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What is a weather forecast? The one that we watch as a break between news about wars, terrorist attacks and disasters.

I'll tell you. The first regular weather observations began in our country in Moscow, in 1650, under the father of Peter the Great, Alexei Mikhailovich. My son put the cause of meteorology on a broad government footing. Since 1722, Vice Admiral Kruys in St. Petersburg began to make detailed records of the weather. In 1733, a weather station was opened in Kazan, and in 1734 in Yekaterinburg, Tomsk, Yeniseisk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, and Nerchinsk.

But this is not our Cossack land. Here, without science and instruments, everyone knows everything. The first weather station in the vicinity of Meotida was opened by the grandson of the legendary Margarit Manuilovich Blazo, a scientist and public figure, Nikolai Margaritovich Sarandinaki only in 1874 in his Margaritovka on the shore of the Taganrog Bay.

I came to Margaritovka to understand for myself and tell you why here?

This is what the station, or rather the weather site, looks like today.

Lost in a vast expanse where sea, sky and steppe meet. Where are the sunsets and sunrises in the full sky?

Where people run around in a sea of chocolate.

Well, in fact, where else could the first Don weather station appear if not here? Why do you, city dwellers living on asphalt and under air conditioners, need a weather forecast? And here, on the shores of Meotida, the forecast is a matter of life. Look what the wind does - the verkhovka in these parts. Margaritov's cows trampled a long path to the water that had gone hundreds of meters away. And what the low wind does, it would be better not to see.

In these parts you can't make a forecast

And the weather site is located almost at a clay cliff, on the shore, open to all winds, both sea and steppe. And he seems to be listening quietly...

In the local school museum, which is better than many in the district (more on that later), there is a stand dedicated to the history of the weather station.

The certificate of honor certifies that meteorological observations here actually began in 1874.

The weather station was originally located in the Sarandinaki mansion, which has happily survived to this day.

Later this house was built, now in disrepair and abandoned.

Not long ago it was replaced by a standard modular unit.

A pleasant station worker, Svetlana, hospitably invited me inside. I got excited, now I will see how forecasts are born, and not just anywhere, but in the kingdom of the weather god, on the Maeotian coast.

The meteorologist's workplace was a delight. It turns out that he no longer needs to make his way to the devices covered in snowdrifts in a sheepskin coat and felt boots. Information from the weather site is transmitted directly to the computer screen. But the neatly lined journal is there.

And this rotating stand, covered with neat signs! I am sure that if I understood their meaning down to the last symbol, I would be able to predict the weather a hundred years in advance with incredible accuracy.

Work environment and secret symbols.

The station has its own relic - a pre-war barometer (if I'm not mistaken).

And I will definitely learn this yellowed table, the letters on which are drawn through a stencil, and will surprise my companions by distinguishing between cumulonimbus clouds of vertical development and cirrostratus clouds of the upper tier.

I was pleasantly impressed by the warm, neat atmosphere of the station.

Let us bow to the memory of Nikolai Margaritovich

and let us recall that the second weather station in our region was opened by him, in the building of the Petrovsky Real School on Bolshaya Sadovaya, 12 years after Margaritovskaya, in 1886.

There are analogue and digital weather stations.

The classic (analog) weather station has:

thermometer for measuring air and soil temperature
Anemormbometer (or weather vane) for measuring wind speed and direction
pluviograph for continuous recording of precipitation during periods of liquid precipitation
thermograph for continuous recording of air temperature
hygrograph for continuous recording of air humidity
psychrometer for measuring temperature and humidity
ice machine for measuring ice and drizzle deposits
iceoscope for detecting drizzle and frost
barograph to determine barometric pressure trend

For large volumes of weather station operation, use

evaporometer GGI-3000 for measuring the amount of evaporation from the earth's surface
heliograph for continuous recording of sunshine

In a narrow sense, a weather station is an institution that conducts meteorological observations. The main official weather stations in the world are assigned synoptic indices. In Russia, most weather stations are managed by Roshydromet. Depending on the established volume of observations, weather stations have a certain category. Data from USSR weather stations were published in the Meteorological Monthly.

Classification of digital weather stations

Road weather stations

In addition to the sensors listed above, road meteorological stations use a surface temperature sensor and a temperature sensor at a depth of 30 cm (under the surface), as well as a controller and GPRS module for transmitting data to information centers. To inform drivers about the weather conditions, information boards with surface and air temperatures are used. Warnings may also appear on the display board (WET ROAD, SIDE WIND, etc.)

Forest weather stations

Forest weather stations serve to prevent the possibility forest fires. Most often, such weather stations operate on batteries. The stations collect climate data such as tree moisture, soil moisture and temperature at various forest altitude levels. The data is processed and a fire activity map is modeled, which makes it easier for firefighters to cope with a possible ignition, or to prevent the spread of a fire.

Hydrological meteorological stations

Hydrological weather stations conduct meteorological and hydrological observations of the weather conditions of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes and swamps. Such weather stations are located on continents, at sea floating stations, and there are also river, lake and swamp observation stations.

Household home weather stations

Appeared on the market relatively recently. The ancestors of household weather stations are ordinary barometers. The functionality of a home weather station is similar to a weather station, but much less data is processed, which comes from one or more sensors installed outside the window and in other rooms. Home weather stations show indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, measure humidity, atmospheric pressure and, based on processor processing of the received data, form a weather forecast for the day. They work like electrical network, and from replaceable batteries.