The popularity of home weather stations has grown significantly, and you may just know someone who would love one this holiday season! As a lifelong weather enthusiast and forecaster myself, I’ve tested several stations and there are some clear choices in each price range. There are tons of options out there, but these are the best in-terms of data accuracy relative to price. While selecting a station, think of where the station may be mounted and whether or not the person you’re buying for will be able to do what is required. Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Best Weather Station Under $50: AcuRite 01123M Weather Station
The AcuRite 01123M Weather Station is a nice starter weather station for those that don’t need anything more than the basic temperature and humidity. This option is incredibly easy to setup and shouldn’t take any longer than a half hour to get going. There is another version of this station that is 33% more expensive with the same sensor but different display that attempts to make its own forecast. Keep some money in your pocket and don’t bother with that version.
- Check current indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, including trend arrows to indicate how conditions have been changing at a glance
- Patented self-calibrating technology creates a 12 to 24 hour personal weather forecast
- Large, easy to read screen displays the current date and time, and automatically adjusts the clock for daylight saving time
- The auto-dimming display includes barometric pressure, and daily high and low records for indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity
- Powered with a an AC adapter for your convenience with an optional battery backup.
Best Weather Station Under $150: Ambient Weather WS-7078 Smart Weather Station
Being as we are still in the low budget price range, I selected a station that delivers accurate data for the price and doesn’t come with extra investment to mount the system. The Ambient Weather WS-7078 Smart Weather Station is the best option for weather enthusiasts looking for specifically accurate temperature, dew point, wind speed, and rainfall data. Setup is fairly straightforward, and easiest if you have something to screw the station into. Transmission range is ~100 feet under most conditions, farther if not obstructions. A nice feature is the ability to upload station data to the Ambient Weather Network and third parties like Wunderground for free. The data itself is top notch for this price range!
- Allows you to monitor your home and backyard weather conditions with LCD color display and Feels Like forecast
- Wireless sensor array and rain gauge measures wind speed/direction, temperature, humidity, UV and solar radiation; Indoor thermo-hygrometer-barometer
- Connect your weather station sensors to IFTTT and control external devices, like blinds, rain gauges, lights and switches. Use the IFTTT feature to connect to other other web services such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. The AmbientWeather.net server includes a handy timeline for tracking IFTTT triggered applets.
- Enhanced Wi-Fi connectability option that enables your station to transmit its data wirelessly to the world's largest personal weather station network
- Console power provided by 5V DC adapter w/ 1 x CR2032 battery back-up, sensor array requires 3 x AA batteries (not included)
Best Weather Station Under $300: Ambient Weather WS-2000 Smart Weather Station
At this price range, you can get an extremely accurate station and even offer your data to the National Weather Service. I recommend the Ambient Weather WS-2000 Smart Weather Station. It’s a slightly more accurate version of the previous station, but it has an excellent display that is very clean and presents data better than any station out there. It of course allows you to upload data for free. Another benefit this station offers is the ability to plug and play with ambient sensors, like soil moisture, lightning detector, air quality, and have all data shown on the brilliant display!
- Allows you to monitor your home and backyard weather conditions with TFT color display
- Wireless all-in-one integrated sensor array measures wind speed/direction, temperature, humidity, rainfall, UV and solar radiation
- Supports both imperial and metric units of measure with calibration available
- Enhanced Wi-Fi connectability option that enables your station to transmit its data wirelessly to the world's largest personal weather station network
- Console power provided by 5V DC adapter (included), and sensor array requires 3 x AAA batteries (not included)
Best Home Weather Station: Davis Vantage Pro 2 Wireless
The best home weather station I can recommend serious weather enthusiasts with a big budget is the Davis Vantage Pro 2 Wireless. This system delivers pristine data accuracy and passes 10 calibrations and material endurance tests before shipping. Its transmission range of up to 1000 feet is three times the maximum of competitors, which makes it ideal for businesses and those with a large amount of property. Additionally, the transmitter sends updates every 2.5 seconds, and the anemometer can be mounted separately for most accurate wind speed measurements. You will need to purchase WeatherLink Live ($214) to get the station data uploading online, as this station has been around for over a decade, but continues to be the leader thanks to incredible quality from Davis Instruments. This station is sure to last you many years, if not a couple decades.
- Professional and rugged weather station gives you inside/outside temperature and humidity; rain, wind, barometer, dew point, heat index, wind chill, and more
- Fast updates every 2.5 seconds with 1,000 feet (300 m) wireless transmission range
- Large backlit console with alarms, graphs, forecast
- Anemometer can be mounted separately
- Outdoor sensor suite is solar-powered with battery backup
How to Mount Your Weather Station
Ideally weather stations are mounted 5 feet above the ground and the anemometer is mounted 33 feet above the ground (if anemometer is separate), and 60 feet away from from the nearest large structure. Your ideal mounting solution completely depends on what your property offers. Regardless, here is a comprehensive list of mounting poles made for weather stations.
Although we earn a small commission if you purchase a station from the list, I would never suggest a product I wouldn’t invest in myself. Many hours of research went into this list and you can buy any station with confidence. Thanks for reading and have a great holiday season!
