October 25, 2008

Weather Observation Course by Hong Kong Observatory - Lesson 2

Some weather information, such as temperature is not possible to be observed by our eyes. Thus, meteorological instruments are required.

This is thermometer shed. The open design allows better air circulation and can lead to more accurate temperature measurement in the air. The slanting roof prevents sunlight to affect the temperature inside the shed. This shed is a major source of our daily weather information.



Thermometer screen box is another instrument to measure temperature. Yet, the thermometer shed is better because of better air circulation.


This small bucket collects raindrop if any. With a cylinder, we can know rainfall information in Hong Kong. The instrument is called ordinary raingauge.


For heavy rain, more accurate information is needed. Show time for this drop counting rainfall recorder.


Apart from understanding the instruments, students also learnt about weather report and weather related proverbs. The former is very useful because we can now decode a lot of information from a simple symbol. The latter is more of fun. But it's good to know different season or geographical location may affect the accuracy of the proverbs.

The course combines only 2 lessons. Nevetherless, it's a serious course. We had lots of notes, including a CD version. We had a weather observation exercise to pracise what we had learnt in lesson 1. We had class graduation photos. The most important point is we are awarded a certificate. It really suprised me.

Moreover, we have a pen and a keyring. The yellow figure is Break representing Lightening in the "Weather Family" cartoon. Other members can be found at here.


Lastly, thanks for all earnest instructors' effort.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing, I like all of the pictures, especially the thermometer screen box, considering I've worked with those before. It's amazing that there are so many different ways to generate accurate temperature measurement, which why I love the field that I'm in. The course sounds really interesting and I think a lot of people should take it!