Weather Station Details

(Updated on 11/01/09)

Location

The weather station www.meteoelcasar.es is located on N 40º 42' 00", W 003º 27' 00, at an altitude of 754 meters (2485 feet) above sea level, in the village of El Casar, Guadalajara, Spain.

El Casar, population 8,581, is located in the center plains of Spain, a vast crop growing "meseta" between the valleys of Henares and Jarama rivers. Its geographic location benefits from magnificent views over the Jarama valley, including Madrid , and the Sierras of Central Spain; Guadarrama, Somosierra, Ayllón and Ocejón mountains. El Casar is located 37 Km NorthEast of Madrid and 22 Km West of Guadalajara.

For more information about El Casar, please visit El Casar.com (in Spanish) and Home see Other Links.

Climate

Continental Mediterranean Climate. Seasons vary from mild winters to hot, dry summers. Weather changes according to the coming of Atlantic cold fronts from the west, mainly in Autumn and Spring, and the calm stable air from the subtropical south. Cold Northeasterly winds, passing by the nearby Sierras, makes temperatures fall significantly in winter.

The average yearly temperature is 13.8ºc. With a max. mean monthly temp of 31.29ºc in July and an average minimum monthly temp of 0.91ºc in January. The max and min temperatures registered by my station since its beguining in Oct. 2003 are 37.1ºc (July 2004) and -8.8ºc (January 2005).

Average yearly rain stands at 440 mm, most rainy months are Octuber, November and May. Snowfall is insignificant, with an average of three days per year of snow.

To view more deatails regarding climate data click Here.

Equipment

Weather Station

I´m using a Oregon Scientific WRM928N professional weather station. It includes various in/out temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind and rain sensors. The data obtaned from these sensors is updated to this website every 5 minutes using Virtual Weather Station (v13.01 p00) software. The outside temperature/humidity sensor is located on the North wall of my house, inside a shelter, protecting the sensors from solar radiation and heat. The anemometer, rain gauge, and webcam are on a mast on the house roof, without interference from obstacles.

Webcam

The webcams are Astak CM-812T Wireless, with color images. Located on a Northern view, during claear days, a good view of the near Sierras of Somosierra and Ayllón can be watched. The images are updated every 2 minutes.

Video Capture Device

I´m using CP-1400AS XP a 4 video imput card to capture the images from the webcams.

Software

Virtual Weather Station

Virtual Weather Station (VWS) software process the data from the weather station and uploads them to these webpages.

ImageSalsa

ImageSalsa process the images and uploads them to the FTP server every 2 minutes.

MovieSalsa

MovieSalsa software enables to capture images every minute and creates a time lapsed video that can be replayed in these webpages. This timelapsed video is updated every midnight to show yesterday´s moving weather.