Do you use belt weather kits or electronic handheld weather meters for measuring temperature and relative humidity in the field? Which device do you trust?

 

Belt weather kits for obtaining weather information on prescribed fires and wildfires have been in use since the 1960’s and the use of sling psychrometers from these kits has been a standard practice for determining RH and temperature in the field. In some places, handheld electronic meters for obtaining weather information have replaced belt weather kits, streamlining the measurement process and eliminating many of the errors often associated with the use of the sling psychrometer.

 

In this webinar, Chuck McHugh Fire Spatial Analyst, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, and Larry Bradshaw, Meteorologist, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, will present the results of an innovative study comparing measured temperature and relative humidity values from electronic meters (such as the Kestrel®) to temperature and calculated relative humidity using a sling psychrometer. All measurements were taken in a regulated environmental chamber that allowed them to set the values across a known range of temperature and relative humidity. Following the webinar there will be time for audience Q/A.