What have you gained from meteorological observation?

No matter what nickname people like to use, it is not an easy and satisfactory thing to observe, measure and record the sky in an individual's backyard.

If you have just become a meteorological observer, you must keep in touch with local meteorological service hobby groups, most of which can be searched online. The national meteorological department is also a useful information center for amateur observers.

Although observing the weather is the most economical hobby, when you start observing, you need to buy some basic measuring instruments to measure temperature, pressure and humidity. Good sources of instruments include natural commodity stores, scientific instrument supply companies and museum stores. Contact the local meteorological bureau to discuss where it is best to record readings around your home.

Thermometer is still the most basic instrument in all meteorological equipment. When meteorological observers look at the thermometer, they not only reflect the temperature at that time, but also record the latest maximum and minimum temperatures. Usually, the temperature is the lowest at dawn and the highest at two or three in the afternoon, which changes with the movement of the front. Along the foothills, the collision of air masses or the sinking of foehn (the warm and dry wind on the east side of Rocky Mountain) will make the temperature change all the time.

Volunteer meteorological observers put conventional thermometers and other measuring instruments in wooden boxes, such as shutters with brackets. The temperature measured on the ground is not accurate, and it is more accurate when it is 6 feet (2 meters) from the ground. On sunny days, the temperature there is lower than the grass surface temperature 12 degrees or more. The box protects the internal instruments from direct rain and sunlight, and the box with shutters can circulate the air around the thermometer, so as to obtain accurate temperature readings, rather than shielding them.

Observers without shelter should put the thermometer in a suitable position, away from the top of buildings or chimneys heated by the sun, and away from hot surfaces such as asphalt roads. Using the shade in the north of the house can avoid seasonal differences.