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About Us:
I have put together this page to give a bit more detail of the Malvern
Wells Weather Station. I hope you find it interesting and informative. I
would encourage you to contact me with queries or even corrections. I'm don't
consider myself to be a weather expert, although I probably know more
than most, I am more interested in the gathering and analysis of the
data. |
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Location:
The station is based at my home which is on the border between Malvern
Wells and Upper Welland. We are at an altitude of about 90 metres above
Mean Sea Level (MSL) and are partway up the east side of the Malvern
Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty. The Malvern Hills are in
the county of Worcestershire and are in the form of a long ridge that
runs north-south on the edge of the Severn Valley. To the west is the
county of Herefordshire and the Welsh Borders.
Below is a 3-D representation of the Malvern
Hills viewed from the north. This weather station is roughly under the
arrow. Great Malvern is bottom left and Malvern Wells stretches along
the left side of the hills for several miles.
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A 3-D representation of the Malvern Hills looking
South from just north of North Hill. |
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Weather Station:
Malvern Wells weather has been in existence since September 2006. So I
have
archive material from then. I have always been interested in solar
radiation so I purchased a Davis Instruments Wireless Vantage Pro2 Plus station
that includes measurements of air temperature, relative humidity, air
pressure, rain, wind speed and direction, UV and solar radiation. From
these parameters other data is derived, for example; dew point
temperature and wind chill. I purchased the station from Weather Shop
who are based in Eastbourne. They provide an excellent service (see links
page).
There are particular standards for placement of
a weather station. The ideal site is in the middle of a grass field.
Many amateur weather station enthusiasts are unable to locate their
stations to meet these standards so there are usually compromises
made. I opted to site my station on the roof of my house. This gives
the clearest readings for wind, rain, solar and UV, but not for air
temperature and humidity. I have a separate wireless temperature
and humidity sensor that is located at the correct height above ground
level. It is interesting to see the difference in readings between
these two heights.
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Vantage Pro2 Plus station and console
(solar and UV sensors are not shown) |
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Solar Sensor
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Temperature/Humidity Station |
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Air Temperature:
The Malvern Wells station has two sensors for air temperature.
One is located at roof level and the second is located at the
correct height of 4 feet above ground level. Both the sensors
are located inside a Stevenson's screen that protects the sensor
from direct solar heating and allows the air to pass through.
The graph to the left shows the difference between the two
readings. Often these are very close, although differences will
normally be more apparent on days when the air is still and
settles into layers. Foggy or very hot days would typically give
a difference.
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Relative Humidity:
As with the air temperature sensors above, the station has two
sensors for relative humidity. These are co-located with the
temperature sensors inside the Stevenson's screen.
The graph to the left shows the difference between the two
readings. Regular visitors will see that the difference can be
quite large.
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Rain:
Rain is measured using a tipping bucket arrangement with a
funnel to collect the rain. The graduations are in steps of 0.2
mm, therefore smaller amounts of rain will not be indicated
until enough rain has entered the bucket for it to tip and the
magnet sends an impulse through the reed switch to the weather
station. The funnel above the tipping bucket is not heated, so
snow (or it's rainfall equivalent) will not be recorded in the
same way until it melts and the total may be lower due to
evaporation. The diagram on the right shows the general
arrangement.
In general the weather station records annual rainfall and the
software calculates daily, hourly, rain rates etc.
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Wind Speed and Direction:
The weather station has a
combined anemometer/wind vane. The principle of wind vanes and
anemometers is well known so will not be explained further.
The software is continually monitoring the speed and direction
of the wind. The gust value is the maximum wind speed over a
period and the wind speed value is the average over that period.
In this station's location there are a few trees someway to the
north, but the whole arc from North-West through the South to
North-East is clear and represents a small percentage of the
population. |
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Photographs:
The photographs below are those I use in the header. I rotate these
around and usually use about five at any one time. Where the photographs
have come from other sources I have attributed the source. Some are
hyperlinked with a higher resolution version. If you have a suitable
photograph to offer then I may well be able to use it.
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Super Large Panorama
taken from Poolbrook Common by Brian Sweet |
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Four Peak by Rob Embleton (view North from above
British Camp reservoir) |
Hang gliders off Pinnacle Hill
by Jenny Ward |
Looking North towards Pinnacle Hill
by Linton Seabrook |
Herefordshire Beacon
by Jenny Ward |
Upper Welland and Little Malvern
by Jenny Ward |
Dawn from The Wyche Cutting
by Jon Garfitt |
View North from Gullet Quarry area |
View of Pinnacle Hill |
St. Anne's Well |
View of Worcestershire Beacon from the area of
Pinnacle Hill |
View North of Pinnacle Hill with Worcestershire
Beacon in the background |
View South of Pinnacle Hill and Herefordshire
Beacon in the background |
View North from the Herefordshire Beacon |
Black Hill with Pinnacle Hill in the background |
Looking South from Worcestershire
Beacon |
From Chase End looking North |
Worcestershire Beacon with North Hill |
Somers Obilisque |
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