What is a weather station?
A weather station is a site where we officially record weather data, such as:
- temperature
- humidity
- rainfall
- pressure
- sunshine
- wind
- evaporation
- cloud and visibility.
The Bureau's weather stations around Australia, on offshore islands and in the Antarctic, include:
- automatic weather stations
- manual weather stations operated by our staff, cooperative observers and volunteers.
Most stations in our network do not observe all weather phenomena. The elements observed at any one weather station may change over time.
Timing and quality of weather station data
The number of observations within the day can vary from station to station. For more information about timing of observations and quality control, view Observation details.
Automatic weather stations (AWS)
AWS offer reliable and accurate observations. They reduce the risk to human observers and can collect data 24/7.
We use AWS to:
- provide public weather information
- deliver data for the numerical prediction models used to provide forecasts
- monitor longer term climate variability and change
- support commercial aviation and severe weather response.
Automation began in the 1980s, and greatly improved measurements and delivery. Manual observations of some data may also be taken at an AWS site.
AWS can be set up in different ways to meet various needs. Our AWS are scheduled for regular inspections to check that they meet World Meteorological Organization requirements.
As well as its weather sensors, each AWS has a data acquisition system. This interprets the sensor signals and converts them to digital values with appropriate units – for example, degrees Celsius for surface air temperature.
AWS also have communications technology to transmit data messages to our central system. This enables remote access so we can monitor AWS operations.
Video: Offshore automatic weather stations
BOM operates offshore automatic weather stations across the Australian coastline.
They monitor winds, temperature, humidity and pressure.
This information is vital for safety at sea and during tropical cyclones.
Manual weather stations, observers and volunteers
At manual stations, observations are recorded by:
- our staff
- co-operative observers (contractors)
- volunteer weather observers – learn more about volunteer observers on our Observation network page.
Manual observations provide similar types of data to AWS but observations are far less frequent. AWS generally report once a minute (this data is presented as 30-minute observations on our website). Manual observations are typically daily.
Maintaining our weather stations
To maintain and operate our large observing network, we have technical officers across Australia.
These staff are scheduled to routinely visit AWS and manual weather stations. During these visits, tasks range from assessing exposure changes to verification checks. The team repair faults and test equipment to validate measurements.
Most stations are scheduled for a visit at least once a year.
Weather station names and numbers
All Bureau weather stations have a unique name and identification number. These are based on rainfall districts.
You'll find the weather station name at the bottom of each location page on this website.
To find the weather station number and other details, search for the weather station name. Each weather station has a page that lists the station number and other details, including related weather stations.
If you think a weather station name is incorrect or has an alternative name, send us your feedback using the form on our Contact page.
Weather station upgrades and closures
Find out about new weather stations and upgrades on our Radar and observation network upgrades page.
Weather stations may be closed for a number of reasons, such as:
- a property is sold
- a better site is found
- when a station no longer provides significantly valuable input to our services for the Australian community.