Mobile weather stations have been installed on several ferries in the State of Washington ferry system. The stations measure meteorological parameters along their routes at locations in the Puget Sound where such data was previously unavailable. The weather stations were integrated into the already existing Ferry Tracking System and consist of a CR10X datalogger and temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, and wind speed and direction sensors. The movement of the ferries makes measuring wind speed and direction especially tricky. Accurate data is obtained by correcting the reading with the ferry's gyrocompass, a GPS, and an RF modem. The project was integrated by Meteor Communications Corp. See data from the system at the ferry weather website.

Case Study Summary

Application

Washington State Ferries: Mobile Weather Stations

Location

Puget Sound, Washington USA

Contributors

Richard J. Fulthorp, BSEE, Meteor, and Joseph Nortz, Washington State Ferries, and Jay

Participating Organizations

University of Washington and Washington State Department of Transportation

Measured Parameters

Wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity

Controlled Devices

CR10X

Related Website

Washington State Ferry Appnote Ferry weather


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