Imagine if there's a building nearby to the west, and it is raining with a west wind. You want the Rain Collector (or, Rain Gauge) to receive rainfall as if it were in the middle of a large field.

Hence, make sure the humidity sensor is at least 50 feet away from the nearest tree or body of water. Plants and bodies of water influence humidity measurements. Humidity measurements should reflect the humidity of the general atmosphere in your location. This aluminium sheet should shield the sun at all times and have plenty of ventilation.

A cheaper solution if you cannot use a radiation shield is to use a sheet of aluminium mounted about 6 inches from the thermometer.If you purchase from Ambient Weather, use coupon code 'wunderground' to receive a 10% discount. Ambient Weather sells radiation shields.This way, your weather station can be placed in direct sunlight, with the thermometer located inside the radiation shield. Suggestion - use a radiation shield for your thermometer. The thermometer is at least 50 feet from the nearest paved surface.If the thermometer is placed above grass, again, it should be at least 5 feet above the grass surface.If the thermometer is placed on a roof-top, make sure it is at least 5 feet above the roof-top.The thermometer receives plenty of ventilation and is not blocked from the wind.The thermometer sensor never receives direct sunlight.When placing your weather staion, make sure: Meteorologists define temperature as the temperature in shade with plenty of ventilation. The most common error in installing a weather station is associated with misplacing the thermometer sensor. In fact, siting influences the accuracy of weather readings much more than the quality of the weather instruments themselves. Siting is the single most important factor in ensuring accurate readings. The process of deciding how and where to install your weather station is called 'Siting'. In order to report accurate weather information you must take care in deciding where to place your weather station.

Your weather station should have good 'fetch', or distance from any other tall object. If you place your weather station in an alley, you could very well get a wind tunnel effect on the anemometer, resulting in erroneous wind data. If your weather station is located under a tree or an overhang, the rainfall data measured by the station will not be correct. The location of your weather station is the most important part of installation.

Wunderground personal weather station