It’s been interesting for me, being close to someone whose job is at least partly weather dependent. My job is (alas) not weather dependent at all.
There are days that aren’t suitable for diving (at least, we think so), and ideally one wants to identify them in advance for planning purposes and to maximise the use of days with good conditions. The result of this is that Tony is very interested in what the weather is doing. There are fairly predictable cause and effect relationships between the prevailing winds and underwater visibility in the ocean around the Cape Peninsula, but there is a host of other variables – such as how long the wind has blown for, and what the air temperature is – that can complicate things.
We (mostly Tony) spend quite a bit of time looking at weather online, particularly as the Thursday newsletter deadline approaches. What we don’t always know (except from the live buoys at Kommetjie and the intermittently working ones in False Bay) is what the weather is doing at home, where we live close to the ocean on the edge of False Bay.
With this in mind Tony’s birthday present this year was a home weather station, a (not entirely selfless) gift that will keep both of us interested and occupied for hours. I chose the Oregon Scientific Anywhere Weather Kit, which comes with a barometric pressure, temperature and humidity sensor, an automatically emptying rain gauge, and a wind vane and anemometer. You can add other sensors if you wish. Wonderfully, when the main unit is plugged into your modem/router, the data collected by the sensors is saved online for viewing on a computer, and a smartphone app (for iOS or Android) lets you check the weather at home while you’re at work, if that’s your thing.
It’s possible for you to see the weather at our house – if you have a smartphone and IF (big if) you care. You just need to download the relevant app (iOS, Android) from the Apple app or Google Play store on your phone, register as a user on the app, and then add Tony as a friend (search for his name and surname by clicking on the “+” button in the Community section of the app, and send him a friend request). Then if you go to “Map” you can search for your friends’ weather stations (or any others in the area that have their permissions set to allow you to view the data). If you don’t know where we live, email Tony and ask him.
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