2 Things You Need To Know About A Professional Weather Station

When it comes to supplying your business with the right weather data, is a professional weather station really necessary?

Smart businesses know that data is the key to success. We know that sounds like a very general statement, but it’s true. The more businesses integrate data from their activities, their competition, and their environment, the more equipped they are to make the right decisions to take their organization to new heights.

One source of environmental data that’s key to everyone from retailers to educational institutions is weather data. When sourced correctly, weather data illuminates a path to increased financial, operational, and human success. Whether you’re trying to protect guests from lightning strikes or trying to come up with a continuity plan for an incoming hurricane, weather data is key.

This may sound like a cliche, but not all weather data is created equal. Your uncle may have a personal weather station atop his garage that he loves. But is that the weather data you want powering your business?

If you’re not sure, keep reading to discover the two most valuable components of a professional weather station and why anything less would put your decision-making at risk.

1. A Professional Weather Station Ensures Data Quality

The first thing you need to know about weather stations is that data quality varies from system to system. For the sake of this article, let’s compare your fictional uncle’s home weather station and a professional one.

We’ll say they’re in the same town and claim to measure the same data points, including rain accumulation. A rather strong thunderstorm rolls through your area and you and your uncle compare rain amounts. They’re both at about 1.5 inches of rain so the two weather stations must be the same, right?

Let’s say it rains again the next day and your uncle calls you up. “You’re never going to believe this but today’s thunderstorm dropped more rain than yesterday’s! My rain gauge says 2 inches!” He exclaims. You sit there – a little confused – considering today’s thunderstorm only lasted twenty minutes and didn’t seem as intense. You go check your professional weather station and it only reads .5 inches of rain. Which one is right?

What you should do is go check your uncle’s weather station because most likely the rain gauge is clogged and still has the water from yesterday in it. This problem is something that can happen to any weather station, both personal or professional. The only difference is that most professional weather stations have data quality checks to identify those problems before you notice them.

Making decisions from inaccurate data is just as bad as making decisions without any data at all. That’s why our meteorologist set aside time every day to do detailed data quality analysis and identify any weather stations that may have problems that are leading to inaccurate readings.

2. Professional Weather Stations Should Come With Maintenance 

The second thing you need to know about professional weather stations is that the best come with maintenance packages.

We can’t control the weather. We can only control how we react to it. With a professional weather station and a variety of weather intelligence tools, you’re all set to make the best weather-related decisions. Yet, things can go wrong.

Let’s say a hurricane rips through your area. Once the flood waters recede and you return to your business park you find that your precious professional weather station was blown off the roof from hurricane force winds. (This shouldn’t happen with the right installation, but you never know). If you had a personal weather station you would have to buy a new one. Luckily, yours is professional and hopefully comes from a company with a dedicated maintenance team.

It’s important to look for a professional weather station provider that has their own team of field technicians that know the in’s and out’s of the equipment you rely on so much. Our team, for example, is positioned throughout the country and makes international trips quite often so we’re never too far away for a maintenance call.

Once our team finds out what has gone wrong and what needs fixing or replacing, they move quickly to your business to help you get back online. It’s that simple.

Professional Weather Stations Are The Only Ones You Can Trust

You know that when you incorporate data into your business operations that the source matters. You don’t need just any data (we’re sorry, but your uncle’s station isn’t going to cut it). Businesses need reliable data that is quality ensured and backed by a team of hardware experts.

That’s what a professional weather station provides. If you would like to learn more about our professional weather station, please click the button below.

If you have any questions about professional or personal weather stations or our worldwide weather network, please leave them in the comments below or use the chat box on our website.