Common Weather Instruments

New technology helps keep tabs on the weather.hurricane image by cherry from Fotolia.com

Accurate and timely weather forecasting is crucial to industries such as fishing, construction and farming. It is also necessary to warn of dangerous weather systems like hurricanes and thunderstorms. Meteorologists use a variety of instruments to help formulate the accurate short-term and long-term weather forecasts that help keep industries operating and people safe.

Doppler Radar

Doppler Radar enables meteorologists to predict the movement and intensity of dangerous weather systems like thunderstorms, violent winds and tornadoes. It works by detecting and monitoring the pattern of airflow and wind turbulence in a storm as it develops. Doppler Radar bounces radar beams off falling raindrops and measures shifts in frequency, enabling meteorologists to predict the speed at which rain moves toward or away from the radar.

Weather balloons are used to gather data such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and pressure in the upper atmosphere. Filled with a light, flammable gas, weather balloons can soar over 60,000 feet in just a few hours, carrying aloft a radiosonde. This device contains a small transmitter that records and sends data back to a receiver at the weather station.

Meteorologists use weather satellites to view, track and photograph weather systems like hurricanes on a global scale. Satellites can also reveal the movements and patterns of weather systems in local regions, such as individual states or cities. The satellites deliver extremely detailed data, allowing meteorologists to make accurate predictions.

Weather satellites carry two types of sensors that gather data. The imager is a visible light sensor. It produces images the way a camera does using reflected light. The sounder is an infrared sensor. It measures the temperature and energy emitted from clouds, bodies of water and from the Earth's surface.

Barometers are common instruments used to measure atmospheric pressure. Meteorologists use these readings to forecast temperature and the chances of rain. There are two main types: mercury and aneroid. Mercury barometers measure air pressure on a column of mercury. Aneroid barometers measure the force that air pressure exerts upon a thin disk within the instrument. As the disk bends it moves the pointer that takes the reading. Aneroid barometers are smaller and typically record more data.