Why does my Sky always measure wind when there isn't any wind

Tempest Owners
,
1

It’s foggy outside and there is no wind at all. But my Sky gives constant windspeed of about 2 to 4 km/h.
Surrounding stations also give zero windspeed.
Sometimes strange peak gusts.

Don’t think that this is how its supposed to be.
No components that are out of line.

@dsj

Could you have a look at the data?
Powersafe mode is off, so that shouldn’t be the problem.

Also it gives a constant wind direction from the SW.

2

Foggy…

Could be condensing on the sonic sensors. Water on them is known to cause errors in wind readings, even to the point of reporting wind when there is none.

—Sam

2 Likes
3

Normally, it does not. The Sky can measure wind as light as a whisper.

4

Yes I know Gary… But all surrounding stations gave zero windspeed or maybe maximum 0,5 km/h.

Mine measured wind the whole night. And constantly from one direction.

5

But, your surrounding stations probably have spinning cups and can not measure low wind.

As an example, have a look at these two stations. They are both mine and are within 30ft of each other. The first is an Ambient clone with spinning cups, the second is Weatherflow Sky. I’m not saying you may not have a problem, but this illustrates that what you are experiencing is possible.

https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=IMUGLADA2

and

https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=IORTACA2

1 Like
6

That’s indeed a big difference.
But I meant the surrounding Sky stations.
Most of them gave zero windspeed.
Mine constantly gave windspeed. But could be my imagination that there wasn’t any wind :sweat_smile:

7

If you can, perhaps bring your SKY inside and see if it still measures wind. That’ll help identify it there is a fault with the unit.

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8

Or…

Make sure your sensors do not have water on them from the fog…

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9

That’s a good idea… Will try that…

Will let you know my findings. :blush:

10

Had/have the same problem.
Tried placing the Sky in a closed box inside, Sky still reported wind!

Haven’t had time to investigate mere/contact WF.

My station has not yet been outside.
Just deleted all data and placed Sky in a box, will see what happens.

Regards

11

Gonna take it down tommorow I think… and see what happens when I place it inside. :blush:

12

My SKY reported wind this morning when I was in bed and SKY was locked up in a closed cabinet. Strange!

Regards

13

for @anon84912554 and others to have a look, please add the link to your station in your profile, makes it way easier. Thanks :smirk:

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14

One new piece of information not mentioned above is that SKY needs a bit of clearance (at least 6 " / 15 cm) around the wind sampling area. Otherwise, you may see false wind from reflected interference.

So, to summarize, if your SKY says there’s wind when it seems calm to you, it could be:

  1. SKY measures wind down to significantly lower speeds than spinning cup anemometers will so what seems like “no wind” may actually be “some wind”
  2. you may have a large drop of water or something else (other than air) sitting on the reflective plate in the wind sampling area of your SKY
  3. there’s some other solid object within 15 cm of the sampling area
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15

Thanks for the summarize David.

I love my WeatherFlow system!

1 Like