The above unit sitting on my desk, displays a variety of information, from sunrise/sunset times, moon phase, to information transmitted by sensors outside, about temperature, rainfall & wind data. There is no substitute, however, for an observer going outside & reading traditional instuments & most of the data produced from this site is obtained in this manner. The Met Office has been increasingly forced into using automatic stations because of the difficulty in finding people willing to commit themselves to making observations 365 days a year, an almost impossible job without the help of an assistant. I knew a lady in the Highlands who used to make 6 observations per day (&send in reports to the Met Office) on 6 days each week. Only on 1 day each week was she required to make just the 1 observation at 0900Hrs, this to allow her an opportunity to do her shopping! Such happenings are largely over, but in the interests of accuracy, there is no substitute for an observer on the spot using the basic recording equipment. Too often nowadays, data recorded in one place, is credited to another, many miles distant. In the past, for instance, Pitlochry has been credited with temperatures actually recorded in Aviemore!
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