Snow piling up on top of SKY

How do you, all other weather experts, deal with the issue that snow is piling up on top of the SKY unit? causing the solar and uv readings a bit low… :frowning:

Im hoping for a simple life-hack :slight_smile:

Niklas

That’s an issue. Twice I have had to lower the Sky and remove the snow buildup. So far I have been unable to think of a better way.

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Here’s my solution…I just don’t worry about it!

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If you’re losing sleep, I’ve heard that weather observers in extreme climates use spray de-icers. I doubt that a Super Soaker would be much use, but maybe a backpack insect sprayer full of methanol with a long hose or a long air wand and a compressor???

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There is never a bird around when you need one.

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I think a Super Soaker full of ethanol might solve this problem.

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Ha! We’re actually evaluating some nano-particle coatings to mitigate the “rain on plate” issue with wind speed and these coatings also purport to be very good at preventing snow and ice accumulation.

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My solution up here in Northern Ontario is … to let it be. Spring is right around the corner, no ? :blush:

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There is a product called never-wet…might that help if you taped off the sensor and applied to the rest of the dome? I live in NW Fla, so I’m merely speculating…since I’ve only seen snow here once in the past eleven years. Maybe if the next ice age hurries the heck up I’ll get to experience it again.

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Hiya, neighbor!
Yeah, snow here is a rare thing… 1/100th of an inch and we shut down schools, bridges, airports… lol

NW Fl as well.

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My SKY is 22 feet from the ground, not much way of reaching it. Fortunately wind is a consistent factor here so the snow has been no problem, so far.

… for those living in warm climates, this is what living up north does to your Sky wind measurements. Kaputz. Lucky the snow evaporates over the day. The old Davis wind spinner still works like a charm though.
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I’ve wondered how much energy it would take if there were heater coils in the top and air gap to attach external power to in such cases.

My sky seems to be stuck at southerly wind direction. I there a way to fix/recalibrate this. image

If the wind gap is completely dry and free of obstructions you may need to contact support.

@ssstingrayc265 . Hello and welcome to the family. As a very new station, it’s likely that your SKY just needs to go through the initial sensor balancing routine which requires wind from the four cardinal directions. See SKY: wind sensor initial self balancing for more explanation.

Thank you it works fine now. Thanks for the support. I leveled it and remarried it to the hub and it seems to be working properly now. I’m looking forward to getting the breath soon also. Love this station. Would love to get some maintenance tips. What is the most important to keep up with. Thanks Ray.

I don’t know if this has been covered somewhere, sorry if I’m being redundant. My Sky has actually done a great job with very few false wind reports… until the heavy sleet this morning. I’m getting erroneous reports of gusts to 40 mph even thought it is almost calm.

Been brought up many times. Water/ice/lizards in the wind slot wreak havoc on the measurements until they clear out…

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The good news is that reporting is back to normal now that the sleet has stopped.

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It is an issue.

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