The weather station here provides valuable real-time weather data about the city of Los Banos. The weather station is a Davis Vantage Pro 2 model. The weather station captures a wide variety of weather data and stores it in a computer to give a long-term permanent record of weather within the city. This data is used and monitored by NOAA in Hanford, via APRS, particularly during stormy weather conditions. Currently we also send the data to www.wunderground.com. The data is also used by local farmers year-round.
Local Weather Radio Stations
KIH-62 162.40 MHz
Broadcasts are tailored to the needs of the people living in the Central San Joaquin Valley & Central Sierra Nevada.<,/font>
WXL-89 162.55 MHz
Broadcasts are tailored to the needs of the people living in the Southern San Joaquin Valley and Kern Mountains.
WNG-659 162.425 MHz
Broadcasts are tailored to the needs of the people living in the Antelope and Indian Wells Valleys.
KAD-94 162.450 MHz
Broadcasts are tailored to the needs of the people traveling through or camping in Yosemite National Park.
Weather data collected:
1. Current temperature
2. Maximum temperature for each 24 hour day
3. Minimum temperature for each 24 hour day
4. Dew Point is another way to state the Relative humidity. This is the temperature when dew or fog will form.
5. Wind speed (and gusts) are a calculated average that are updated about every five minuets.
For all the do-it-yourselfers out there, here is Sir George Simpson's version of the Beaufort Wind Scale:
| Wind Force Number |
Description |
Speed in Miles per Hour |
Speed in Kilometres per Hour |
Speed in Knots |
Observation |
| 0 |
Calm |
0-1 |
0-1 |
calm |
Smoke rises vertically |
| 1 |
Light Air |
1-3 |
1-5 |
calm |
Smoke drifts slowly |
| 2 |
Slight Breeze |
4-7 |
6-11 |
5 knots |
Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; flags stir |
| 3 |
Gentle Breeze |
8-12 |
12-19 |
10 knots |
Leaves and twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flags |
| 4 |
Moderate Breeze |
13-18 |
20-29 |
15 knots |
Dust and small branches move; flags flap |
| 5 |
Fresh Breeze |
19-24 |
30-39 |
20 knots |
Small trees with leaves begin to sway; flags ripple |
| 6 |
Strong Breeze |
25-31 |
40-49 |
25 knots |
Large branches move; flags beat |
| 7 |
Moderate Gale |
32-38 |
50-61 |
30 knots |
Whole trees move; flags extended |
| 8 |
Fresh Gale |
39-46 |
62-74 |
35 knots |
Twigs break off trees; walking is hindered |
| 9 |
Strong Gale |
47-54 |
75-88 |
45 knots |
Slight damage to houses (such as slates removed) |
| 10 |
Whole Gale |
55-63 |
89-102 |
50 knots |
Trees uprooted; much damage to houses |
| 11 |
Storm |
64-72 |
103-117 |
60 knots |
Widespread damage |
| 12 |
Hurricane |
73-82 |
118-134 |
70 knots |
Excessive damage |
The term knot comes from the marine measurements of wind speed and their use of nautical miles.
6. Wind direction measured in degrees, where 390 degrees is "full circle." 90degrees is east, 180 is south, and 270 is west. Most of the time we try to use both degrees and compass points.
7. Precipitation - Normally called rainfall. In some cases this can also come from thick, wet fog, dew, and mist.
8. Solar radiation (watts per meter2) - When this reading is > 300 watts per meter2 there is bright sunshine; when < 300 watts per meter2 it is cloudy. This data also allows the site to calculate the amount of solar panels necessary to provide solar electrical power for various functions. The high solar reading for the day is also displayed.
9. UV Index - What does the UV Index mean to me?
| UV Index |
Category |
Sunburn Timeover 9 extreme less than 15 minutes |
| 7-9 |
high |
about 20 minutes |
| 4-7 |
medium |
about 30 minutes |
| 0-4 |
low |
more than 1 hour |
When the UV index is over 9, UV-B is extremely strong, and you will burn in less than 15 minutes. (Sunburn times are for light suntanned skin, the times would be somewhat longer for those with darker skin.) Even if you do not get a burn, you may still be damaging your skin.
10. Barometric pressure and pressure trend - when the barometric pressure is falling for a prolonged time (> 24 hours) expect a change in weather; when rising for a prolonged period expect fair weather. Average sea level pressure (which all weather stations are calibrated to) is 29.92 inches. When above this the weather is generally fair, when below this reading the weather can be unsettled.
11. Dew point - This is the temperature at which the relative humidity would be 100%, given the current temperature.
12. Wind chill - Wind Chill Temperature is only defined for temperatures at or below 50 degrees F and wind speeds above 3 mph. Bright sunshine may increase the wind chill temperature by 10 to 18 degrees F.
13. HI - Heat index - this is a measure of the "apparent" temperature. It is a combination of the air temperature and relative humidity and what the temperature feels like on our skin. Generally, the higher the relative humidity, the higher the "apparent" temperature.
14. THW index - Similar to the heat index, the THW is another "apparent" temperature combining temperature, relative humidity, wind and solar radiation.
15. ET - Evapotranspiration - This is the amount of moisture evaporated off the surface. This data is used by farmers and irrigators to calculate replenishment to counter act the water loss. Specific crop factors are use to adjust this for the different crops. Contact your local farm advisor to get the adjustment factor.
16. Wind Run - there are two "unofficial" schools here....
a) First old school (to me) is a constant running count of the wind mileage, like the odometer on your car. An alternative way to get this figure is to add that average daily, weekly, or monthly wind speed and divide that figure appropriately. This is used by many pond, lake and other water body managers to help in figuring the water level loss to their "ponds." This can easily be done here looking at the Evapotranspiration figure, as the ET will do all the wind, humidity, and other factors automatically.
b) Alternatively as on this site you will find wind runs as a graphical indication of the wind direction to help in determine from where the wind direction is blowing from. This is very helpful when our farmers are spaying their crops. The wind run graph on this page is limited to the past hour, while the Find-U site will show a longer time line.
Green type - not available at this station yet. |
