I’m new to the group but very happy to have found you all.
During a recent Nor’easter here in the mid-Atlantic I observed a weather station near me using WF.
My device remains an AcuRite Prof. 5 in 1. Over the course of 9 hours of side by side observation I noticed while we both experienced a peak of 48mph, his sustained to gust ratio was double that of the AcuRite. Has anyone with had a similar experience?
My concern here remains that with a Nor’easter, winds are continuous (sustained) and far less gusty
than in any other weather event do consistent pressure gradients of Nor’easters.
Gary
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Hi @gliska15 we’re happy you found us as well. Welcome! Can you provide a link to the WF station to which you are comparing? As you might know, wind fields vary massively due to the dynamics of the exact environment in which a station is sited. In most cases, comparing two stations which are not exactly co-located is like comparing apples to oranges (unless both stations are calibrated professional-grade equipment, sited by a meteorologist, both mounted at 10m height with no obstructions).
That said, when comparing a highly sensitive sonic anemometer (like the WF SKY) to a traditional spinny cup anemometer placed in the exact same location — one will notice a wider range of measured wind variance as the sonic is not affected by inertia like the spinny cups. When the wind drops, the spinny cup anemometer can over report measured wind as the it takes time for the momentum to dissipate. Further, due to friction in the spinny cups, the minimum cut-in speed can be much higher than a sonic. Both of these factors will influence the avg : gust ratio that you mention.
The measurement nuances noted above are far less significant contributors versus micro-scale disturbances the wind fields. When comparing wind data for two home stations — it’s only relevant if the stations are in the exact location (within 3 feet of each other) and sampling at a similar interval.
We love comparisons and data-centric analysis. Hope to hear more from you.
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Good explanation of the different systems David.
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Agree with everything you covered. My site is:
I will be mounting in identical locations hopefully shortly and we will soon
be able to quantify the “spinny cup” vs. sonic.
My site: South Bay Shore Drive, Broadkill Beach - Liska KDEMILTO15
Here’s a good reference thread: SKY vs $1200 RM Young