Maltby le Marsh, Lincolnshire is located 4 miles from the North Sea. Located on a flat plain to the east of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The site is clear to the south,with some restrictions east and west, and the house 12m to the north. It is at an altitude of just 4m above sea level.
The core of this automatic weather station consists of a Raspberry Pi computer. This runs programs in the Python language which reads various sensors and instruments. The computer then processes and stores this information, and produces web pages to display it. The electrics are located in a water-proof box. The main sensor is located in the Stevenson Screen. Cables go to the rain and wind measuring instruments. Everything is powered by a 12v solar panel.
Temperature, humidity and air pressure are measured using a BME 280 sensor.. A 12v fan blows air into the northern side of the Stephenson screen. Grass temperature is measured by using a DS18B20 sensor, in a waterproof casing, at grass height. Its main use is to determine a ground frost at night. Soil temperature is also measured by a DS18B20 sensor, but 10cm below the ground. Rainfall and windspeed are measured using simple digital switches on measuring devices. Wind direction is measured using a RasPIO analog zero interface which returns different electrical resistance values depending on the position of the wind vane. Wind vane and anemometer are located 5 metres above ground level. Sunlight is measured by a solar cell under load. The figure is a percentage of max sunlight. UV light is measured by a VEML6075 UVA/B Sensor. Snowfall and depth are input manually.
The 'All Sky Camera' uses a second Raspberry Pi and a PiCamera with a Fisheye 222° Lens.
'Time'. Measurements are taken from midnight to midnight, GMT (UT). In British Summer Time, this does not change, but the time on the live data page is adjusted to BST. Therefore in summer, although the displayed day and date change at local midnight, the recorded day changes at 1am BST.
From 2014, weather data was being recorded using the now defunct Maplin weather station, and by using Cumulus software. On 18th January 2019 the present weather station began operation.
Data from this station is uploaded to the UK Met Office 'WOW' website every 10 minutes.