How tough is the toughest weather station?

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When avalanche rescue needs reliable data, only one weather station can send it from under the snow pack with a 12+ km (7.5+ miles) wireless range.

Extreme weather requires tough hardware

In meteorology, the real difference between professional and commercial hardware is not only in measurement accuracy, long-term measurement stability and precision, but also in toughness, robustness and survivability. The fine line between extreme weather and a weather disaster is the damage caused and loss of life. Timely and accurate decisions require accurate and reliable data in the most extreme weather situations. This is what sets apart professional meteorological equipment from the rest and enables the prevention of disasters and loss of life. MeteoHelix IoT Pro weather stations donated to the Slovak Avalanche Service are proving their worth against all existing weather station hardware.

Buried alive under the snow

Buried under wind blown snow pack for over two months at 1727 meters (5669 feet) above sea level, the MeteoHelix kept tirelessly measuring and sending wireless data every 10 minutes to Sigfox gateways installed by SimpleCell and located 12.5 km, 16.5 km, 20 km, and 32,5 km away. The 3+ meter high snow pack here was unexpected in this warmest winter on record.

Over the two months, tons of wind blown snow consolidated and with a crushing force devastated other meteorological equipment. Under this force, the stainless steel mounting bracket holding the MeteoHelix was bent over like a sheet of paper as shown in the accompanying photo. The MeteoHelix survived without damage. After being dug out and over the next two days as temperatures rose above freezing, the snow packed around its sensors from the burial thawed. The MeteoHelix IoT Pro returned to measuring atmospheric temperatures (instead of snow pack temperature) for which it was designed and which it preforms better and more accurately than any other professional meteorological weather station due to its special patented helical solar radiation shield design.

While buried under snow, the MeteoHelix weather station measured snowpack temperature. Around March 13, 2020 (6 days before being dug out) the snowpack temperature became a steady 0°C as the snow started its spring time melt.

While buried under snow, the MeteoHelix weather station measured snowpack temperature. Around March 13, 2020 (6 days before being dug out) the snowpack temperature became a steady 0°C as the snow started its spring time melt.

As soon as the MeteoHelix was dug out, it began measuring solar irradiation and soon after the snow Fell away from its sensors, it began reading the correct air temperatures.

As soon as the MeteoHelix was dug out, it began measuring solar irradiation and soon after the snow Fell away from its sensors, it began reading the correct air temperatures.


Can LoRaWAN Networks Transform the Indian Meteorological Department into a World Leader in the Fight Against Global Warming?

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Advantages of LoRaWAN Star-on-Star vs. LTE, GSM, NB-IoT, CAT-M1 and others:

  • Extend wireless network coverage 10+ km past existing LTE, GSM, NB-IoT, CAT-M1 coverage with LoRaWAN LTE gateways

  • LoRaWAN gateway affordability ensures deployment of double and triple-redundant wireless networks affordably due to its Star-on-Star approach vs. mesh networking.

  • Meteorological sensor nodes communicate with multiple gateways, ensuring reliability of wireless data transmission and interference resistance. In case of a gateway failure, data is automatically rerouted via other gateways.

  • LoRaWAN networks allow the addition of unlimited nodes without rebuilding the wireless infrastructure.

  • LoRaWAN networks naturally permit network expansion and do not require trained personnel in the field to support network operation since gateways act as only message forwarders (data pass-through) and sensor nodes do not join/pair with gateways, but directly with the application running at the Met Department.

 
LoRaWAN-Mesh-Meteorological-Networks.jpg
 
 

WMO Precision Wireless LoRaWAN Meteorological Sensors

For meteorological network building to the highest WMO measurement standards.

  • MeteoWind® IoT Pro exceeds WMO/NWS standards by 5X, making it maintenance free for a lifetime.

  • MeteoHelix® IoT Pro meets WMO/NWS standards and due to its helical shield is maintenance free for 2X longer than any other temperature humidity sensor solution.

  • MeteoRain® IoT Compact is designed for high-density deployment and affordability. Its measuring mechanism is more accurate than any other rain gauge under 1000 EURO. Soon to be released MeteoRain® IoT Pro with a larger and taller collector bucket will exceed all WMO and NWS measurement standards.

The rise of Meteo Monopolies: Consolidation within the Meteorological Industry

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The meteorological sensor industry is in the midst of a hasty wave of consolidations by investment firms ever since global warming has become their latest fad. What does this mean for consumers? Consolidation at this unprecedented pace (see tables below), together with a hasty investment rush, results in a reduction in market competition. While market consolidation can be a good thing, the current pace of consolidation of established players, not startups, can be a sign of concern. In the long-term, reduction in market competition can only lead to lower quality overpriced products and strengthens barriers to entry for small independent players. Having experienced it first hand, it is the case today. Only large players have enough lobbying power to “guide” government tender specifications in their favor through corrupt practices in the developing world. One company, Varysian, is aiming to change that by opening up the conversation with meteorological departments’ leadership and technical personnel at the local level while adhering to the work of WMO, the Alliance for Hydromet Development and the wider UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 mandate.

The following tables list just some of the latest consolidations in the industry. 13 independent companies are now owned by 3. You be the judge, whether it is good or bad for the industry.

Six companies are now owned by one.
Davis Instruments Jul 31, 2019 Davis Instruments acquired by AE Monitoring
LAMBRECHT meteo Mar 31, 2019 LAMBRECHT meteo acquired by AE Monitoring
FTS Forest Technology Systems Jan 2, 2019 FTS Forest Technology Systems acquired by AE Monitoring
Vieux & Associates Jul 31, 2018 Vieux & Associates acquired by AE Monitoring
OneRain Mar 8, 2018 OneRain acquired by AE Monitoring
High Sierra Electronics Mar 8, 2018 High Sierra Electronics acquired by AE Monitoring
Three to one consolidation.
Nielsen-Kellerman Oct 12, 2017 Nielsen-Kellerman acquired by Clearview Capital Investments for an undisclosed amount
Ambient Weather Jan 2, 2020 Ambient Weather acquired by Nielsen-Kellerman for an undisclosed amount
RainWise Jan, 2020 RainWise acquired by Nielsen-Kellerman for an undisclosed amount
Four to one consolidation.
Leosphere Oct 5, 2018 Leosphere acquired by Vaisala
3TIER Dec 17, 2013 3TIER acquired by Vaisala
Second Wind Sep 15, 2013 Second Wind acquired by Vaisala
Veriteq Instruments Mar 29, 2010 Veriteq Instruments acquired by Vaisala

Data for these tables was acquired from https://www.crunchbase.com.

 
Manufacturer of high-quality meteorological solutions for Smart-City environmental sensor networks including the MeteoHelix IoT, MeteoRain IoT and MeteoWind IoT wireless weather station and sensors.

Manufacturer of high-quality meteorological solutions for Smart-City environmental sensor networks including the MeteoHelix IoT, MeteoRain IoT and MeteoWind IoT wireless weather station and sensors.