Weather Station
The Bishop Paiute Tribe monitors weather conditions on the Reservation. You can obtain current weather conditions and web cam image using the "Monitoring" tab above. To view other local and regional weather data, forecast and model portals, visit the Resources page.
Weather Station Equipment
Current weather conditions are measured using a set of instruments, located at the top of a 10 m (30 foot) tower, next to the Environmental Mangament-A Office and air quality monitoring station platform.
The meteorological station measures wind speed, wind direction, max wind gust, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, barometric pressure, & solar radiation; and calculates resultant wind speed, resultant wind direction, wind direction standard deviation, & dewpoint temperature.
A lightning rod protects the instruments.
The anemometer (the rotating cups) measures wind speed up to 125 mph. The wind vane measures wind direction.
The pyranomter measures solar radiation.
The barometer is located in a shelter on the side of the building.
Rainfall is measured with a tipping bucket, mounted on the station platform. The Tribe also utilizes a National Weather Service approved standard 4" gauge for collecting precipitation data- one of the most reliable and relatively accurate precipitation gauges available. The guage can collect up to 11", and is read in increments of .01 inch by reading the inner tube. Amounts over 1" can be transferred to the tube for cumulative readings.
Web Cameras
The Tribe uses 2 cameras, one pointing at a fixed location, approximately 13 miles from the Reservation, and featuring Mt. Tom (Winuba), and one pointing southeast down Owens Valley, to collect information on visibility. Images are transmitted to the website once an hour, in PST. These images correspond to real time information on meteorological and air quality conditions, making it possible for users to assess the contribution of various conditions to visibility.
The cameras are Star Dot Netcams and are contained in dedicated weather-resistant shelters. Specific software to transfer visibility information to the website was created by Bob Baxter of T&B Systems. Images are archived on T&B Systems and the Air Program’s servers.
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