Haverford Township Weather Station (weather.havtrail.com)

The Haverford Weather Station (right), next to the Community Recreation and Environmental Center (left)

The Haverford Township Department of Parks and Recreation operates a research-grade weather monitoring station just outside its Community Recreation and Environmental Center (CREC) building, in Andy Lewis Community Park at Haverford Reserve. The information shown here summarizes the weather conditions currently reported by this station.

The Haverford Weather Station is an integral part of the environmental component of the Center and its activities. It provides public weather information that is actually measured in Haverford Township. Most neighborhood weather conditions reported in news programs, online and on smartphones are averaged or interpolated from more-distant weather stations, typically at airports. Some conditions are not even directly measured at all. For instance, local neighborhood rainfall amounts shown on television weather reports and smartphones are derived from calculations made on radar data, not from actually collecting and measuring rainwater.

The tripod-mounted monitoring station consists of a datalogger and transmitter unit, to which a variety of sensors can be attached. The station logs readings at five minute intervals and uploads this data every ten minutes to its host website for storage, interpretation and display. A small solar panel and battery keep it going 24 hours a day, year-round.

There is a privately-run air quality sensor in Westgate Hills that reports local particulate matter (PM 2.5) air pollution: