A
weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring
atmospheric conditions to provide information for
weather forecasts and to study the
weather and
climate. The measurements taken include
temperature,
barometric pressure,
humidity,
wind speed,
wind direction, and
precipitation amounts. Wind measurements are taken with as few as other obstructions as possible, while temperature and humidity measurements are kept free from direct solar radiation, or
insolation. Manual observations are taken at least once daily, while automated measurements are taken at least once an hour. Weather conditions out at sea are taken by ships and buoys, which measure slightly different meteorological quantities such as
sea surface temperature, wave height, and wave period. Drifting
weather buoys outnumber their moored versions by a significant amount.