Suprisingly enough there are individuals out there that are passionate about home weather stations as there are people about home audio
. But if you break it down, its just a gadget and I like gadgets
.
The one I picked up, stock, predicts the weather forecast, measures in/outdoor temperature, heat index, wind chill, wind speed, wind direction, UVI, barometric pressure, rainfall, in/outdoor humidity and dew point. I am also able to add additional sensors to the unit. For instance, if I want a reading of the temperature of the pond, I can add a sensor for that. Pretty cool.
This all comes with computer software, and by hooking up the base station through usb collects and stores all the data so I can analyze time periods (days, months or years), plot graphs etc.
The only thing I am worried about is how the outdoor sensors are going to hold up over time during harsh winters. I can't wait to get this thing installed.