Up to October 2004 all my readings have been done with manual instruments. On the 3rd October I bought and installed a wireless Davis Vantage Pro Automatic Weather Station. This was bought from John Dann at www.weatherstations.co.uk who give a superb sales and advice service. More information and data from the VP will be available from January 2005. The manual instruments include a thermometer, a Met Office standard maximum thermometer, a minimum thermometer and a hair hygrometer. These were purchased from Vaisala and www.metcheck.co.uk . The above are housed in a Met Office UPVC Stevenson screen which now has black slats inside to improve thermal performance. The screen was purchased from the Met Office supplier Jonathan Wright at www.metspec.net and is pictured opposite.

After almost 10 years fine service (with only the rain gauge replaced) the Vantage Pro ISS was replaced with a Vantage Pro 2 and Vue console from Mendip Weather www.mendipweather.co.uk on 1/9/14.

Outside the screen I have a set of earth thermometers purchased from Vaisala. They are of the solid glass type sunk into the ground to depths of 1cm, 10cm, 30cm and 60cm. They are supported by a home-made wooden frame.

The picture of the enclosure above was taken looking south into the paddock. To the east I have my Snowdon pattern 5" raingauge purchased from metcheck with a glass tapered end measuring funnel. The VP AWS is situated 2m from the raingauge with the anemometer supported by a paddock post and a 2m tall wooden pole giving a height above ground of 3m. The remaining instrument is a hall barometer calibrated perfectly to mean sea level (but the VP is now used for pressure readings).

And finally ... here is a picture of the Chief meteorologist doing what comes naturally !
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