The £40 weather station for amateurs

AMATEUR weather stations are widely used by outdoor workers such as farmers and builders as well as weather enthusiasts, meteorologists and schools.

Basic weather stations can be bought from high street electronic shops such a Maplin. Its battery powered Wireless Weather Station on sale at £39.99 allows you to check temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and rain fall via sensors that wirelessly transmit the data collected up to 150 metres to a base unit. At the top end is the Vantage Pro2 Fars professional quality wireless station. As well as all the basics, the £1,300 station records solar radiation and UV levels. It also gives calculated values such as wind chill and dew point. Some of the devices can even be fitted to cars.

They should ideally be set up on level ground away from trees, buildings and steep ground which can influence measurements, particularly temperature, wind and the catch of rainfall in urban areas.