How to read a barometer?
If you want your barometer to help you forecast the weather on a daily basis, you need to know how to interpret atmospheric pressure variations.
In this article, we will explain to you how to read a barometer face and how to forecast weather conditions for the next hours thanks to the hand’s moves.
PLAY THE VIDEOWhat does an aneroid barometerlook like?
Although it looks like a clock, the handed barometer does not indicate the passage of time but tells us what the sky will be like for the next few hours. Don’t know much about it? Well, let us take a few minutes to make you familiar with the weather barometer’s face.
No need any more to use a brass barometer whose face displays too much information! Just like Ocean Clock’s tide clocks, we chose to modernise the barometer and make it a trendy decoration object, and we also wanted to facilitate the reading thanks to the refine face.
But how to read a barometer?
QuésacohPa ?
Even if, at first sight, the handed barometer may look confusing with its unusual numbers, there is no need to panic.
The face’s graduation between 960 and 1065 refers to the atmospheric pressure, measured in hectopascal (hPa).
Sun ...and clouds !
Do not be surprised by the little indicator showing 1013 hPa. This value represents the reference pressure at sea level and is used as a marker to tell us if the weather is about to improve or worsen.
When the pressure is superior to 1013 hPa, we speak in terms of anticyclonic situation which is a sign of calm and pleasant weather.
On the contrary, if the pressure is inferior to 1013hPa, it means that we are facing a depression which will bring clouds and rain.
To make the reading of the weather barometer easier we put icons on its face (sun, cloud, storm, rain) and also inscriptions (improvement and worsening), a few indications on how to interpret the hand’s variation at a glance.
Nobattery !
As you may notice, our stylish barometer has a hand, but do not be misled as a barometer does not work like a clock at all.
No energy is required to make the aneroid barometer work, only the atmospheric pressure variations make the hand move. If you wish to learn more about its functioning, go to our page: how does a barometer work?
The barometer’s hand, black or white depending on the chosen model, will indicate you the value of air pressure. However, it is not specifically this value that will help you forecast weather events but the variation of this pressure, that is to say the hand’s movement.
Check out pressure variationsat a glance
To clearly visualise the hand’s moves, the aneroid barometer is always followed by a reference pointer.
In order to bring a touch of originality to this new French creation, we chose to replace this reference pointer by a magnetic wood bolt-shaped pointer. Just like the reference pointer, this bolt will enable you to see very easily the hand’s variations.
Every time you want to use the barometer, all you will have to do is position the bolt-shaped marker on the hand and then tap on the wooden barometer’s glass with your finger so the hand can react to the current atmospheric pressure. Consequently, thanks to the bolt, you will be able to read the barometer and appreciate at a glance the direction and amplitude of the hand’s movement to then figure out what the weather’s future conditions will be in the next hours.
Understandingbarometer readings
Now that you are familiar with the handed barometer’s face, you may ask yourself how to use a barometer to guess the weather. It is essential to know how to interpret pressure variations to make the best daily weather forecasts.
Let us discover together the meaning of the hand’s moves of this modern and deco barometer.
Handspeed
As you can see, it is important to take the hand’s variation speed into account if you wish to forecast the weather the best as possible and not let the rain take you by surprise. Keep in mind that changes in atmospheric pressure happen before the weather changes.
If the time gap between these two changes is short, then the new weather conditions will not last long. On the contrary, if it is long, it means that they will last.
If you have not set your Ocean Clock wood barometer and have no idea how to do so, we invite you to read our explanatory page. After you have read this page, you will not look at your weather barometer or the sky the same way!