While the station has seemingly solid accuracy (its 5-day error rate was 3.1 degrees Fahrenheit), the sensor recorded considerably lower “low” temps than all the other sensors, sometimes by as much as 10 degrees. The good news is there’s lots of information relayed: wind speed/direction, rainfall, UV, solar radiation, barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, dew point, heat index, and wind chill. The mounting system-which relies on two metal U-bolts tightened by a tiny, included wrench-doesn’t feel the most stable either. The device arrives completely unassembled, and you’ll need to spend some time putting everything together like a plastic model before you can even dream of checking the local barometric pressure. The sensor array itself feels quite flimsy, and you’ll need to bring your own pole on which to mount it. The WS-2902C from Ambient Weather ( Rating: 6/10) is the cheapest weather station in our roundup, and while it gets the job done quite well, using it can be an underwhelming experience.
We also have tips for getting the most out of your robot vacuum cleaner, and a guide to securely removing users from shared smart home devices. We have advice for buying smart bulbs, smart plugs, and home security cameras. Update, July 7, 2021: This article was changed to reflect some recent improvements to the way data is presented in the Tempest app.īe sure to read our other buying guides for the smart home. To gauge overall accuracy, I recorded each station’s high and low predictions for five consecutive days, compared those numbers against that station’s own measured high/lows for each day, then calculated the average variance in degrees for each of the 10 data points. With that in mind, I looked at four leading brands-all within a “giftable” price range-to see whose weather is better, and whose forecast is finest. I get it, and if you need this level of agency, a weather station’s definitely for you. After all, the guy down the street could have his weather station set up next to his barbecue grill, spoiling the readings. Maybe you really need to know what the weather is like directly outside your front door.
(There are at least seven stations within a mile or so of my house.)īut maybe that's not good enough for you. If a few of your neighbors have already installed weather stations, you may not really need one of your own. Hyper-local forecasts are widely available through sites like Weather Underground, where you can probably find a citizen reporting weather data from a location within a few hundred feet of your home. Also, the old guard in this category have stepped up their mobile app game to compete with the newcomers on the market.īut the biggest question today isn’t what weather station to buy, it’s whether you need one at all. Today’s home weather stations are cheaper, more powerful, and do more than ever. In my neck of the woods, the weather has certainly evolved over that time frame-“fire season” is now a dreaded annual thing here in California-and one would hope that home weather gadgetry would have evolved in that time span too. I first ventured into the world of DIY weather forecasting five years ago when I reviewed four home weather stations that let you play armchair meteorologist, teasing out every last detail of your local climate.
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