The weather stations at Yavapai College provide valuable real-time weather data for the college. The weather stations are Davis Vantage Pro Plus models. The weather stations capture a wide variety of weather data and store it in a computer to give the college a long-term permanent record of weather at Yavapai College. This data is particularly useful to courses in the Geography Department.
Weather data collected:
Current temperature
Maximum temperature for each 24 hour day
Minimum temperature for each 24 hour day
Relative humidity
Wind speed
Wind direction
Precipitation
Solar radiation (watts per meter2) - When this reading is > 300 watts per meter2 there is bright sunshine; when < 300 watts per meter2 it is cloudy. These data also allow the site to calculate the amount of solar panels necessary to provide solar electrical power for various functions.
UV Index -
What does the UV Index mean to me?
UV Index
Category
Sunburn Time
over 9
extreme
less than 15 minutes
7-9
high
about 20 minutes
4-7
medium
about 30 minutes
0-4
low
more than 1 hour
When the UV index is over 9, UV-B is extremely strong, and you will burn in less than 15 minutes. (Sunburn times are for light untanned skin, the times would be somewhat longer for those with darker skin.) Even if you do not get a burn, you may still be damaging your skin.
Barometric pressure and pressure trend - when the barometric pressure is falling for a prolonged time (> 24 hours) expect a change in weather; when rising for a prolonged period expect fair weather. Average sea level pressure (which all weather stations are calibrated to) is 29.92 inches. When above this the weather is generally fair, when below this reading the weather can be unsettled.
Dew point - This is the temperature at which the relative humidity would be 100%, given the current temperature.
Wind chill - Wind Chill Temperature is only defined for temperatures at or below 50 degrees F and wind speeds above 3 mph. Bright sunshine may increase the wind chill temperature by 10 to 18 degrees F.
HI - Heat index - this is a measure of the "apparent" temperature. It is a combination of the air temperature and relative humidity and what the temperature feels like on our skin. Generally, the higher the relative humidity, the higher the "apparent" temperature.
THW index - Similar to the heat index, the THW is another "apparent" temperature combining temperature, relative humidity, wind and solar radiation.
ET - Evapotranspiration - This is the amount of moisture evaporated off the surface. Using this data with rainfall, one can determine moisture deficits/surpluses.
