The simplest hygrometer - a sling psychrometer - consists of two thermometers mounted together with a handle attached on a chain.

One thermometer is ordinary. The other has a cloth wick over its bulb and is called a wet-bulb thermometer.

Partial Relative Humidity Chart for 30 C

Difference Between Dry Bulb and Wet Bulb Temperatures None 0.5 1.0 1.5 9.0 9.5 14.5 15.0 18.0

Relative Humidity 100% 96% 93% 89% 44% 42% 19% 17% 5%

Radar provides meteorologists with information about precipitation and storms. system that uses reflected radio waves to determine the presence, location, and speed of distant objects. Doppler Radar is one used to detect weather disturbances.

Doppler Radar Image Doppler radar measures the speed and direction of the movement of clouds, in addition to cloud density. In this image of a thunderstorm over Oklahoma, Doppler radar shows a minocycline, a rotating mass of air that may signal that the formation of a tornado is imminent.

A radiosonde measures air temperature, air pressure, and humidity from the earths surface up to an altitude of about 30,000 m (about 100,000 ft). The radiosonde consists of a small box attached to a gas-filled balloon. As the balloon rises, a barometer measures air pressure, a thermometer measures temperature, and a hygrometer measures humidity. All of this information is transmitted by radio back to the ground.

Weather Balloon Preparing for a launch in Antarctica, scientists plan to gather weather information from a radiosonde transmitter attached to an expandable balloon. The radiosonde will continuously measure temperature, humidity, and pressure, as well as signal its location. The balloon is filled with a light gas such as helium. As the balloon rises, the gas will expand. At some point, the balloon will burst and a parachute will bring the weather instrument back down to earth.

A weather satellite is a cloud-observing platform in space. Satellites provide cloud observations day and night over vast regions. There are two main types of weather satellites: geostationary satellites and polar orbiting satellites.

Geostationary satellites orbit the earth at the same rate that the earth spins. Hence, they remain about 36,000 km (about 22,000 mi) above a fixed spot on the equator and constantly monitor a specific region below them.

Polar orbiting satellites, situated about 850 km (about 530 mi) above the earths surface, pass over the North and South poles on each orbit photographing the clouds directly beneath them. Because the earth rotates beneath the satellite, each orbit enables the satellite to monitor an area that is west of its previous pass.
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