Stations
The Meteorological Office of the Velocity Interoperability Network operates twelve observing stations across the Network, together with two weather radars, an upper-air station and three coastal gauges. Every station reports to the forecasting centre at Central Exchange, and every station observes to the common programme set out on the Observations page.
The stations were operated before September 2026 by the member organisations at whose premises they stand, and were transferred to the Office during the transition period between 10 August and 5 September 2026. Three stations, at Central Exchange, Southbank Terminal and Northgate Relay, carry records that predate the Office; the rest began reporting to the common programme during the transition.
- 12
- Stations on the register, all reporting from 6 September 2026
- 3
- Staffed stations, at Central Exchange, Northgate Relay and Southbank Terminal
- 412 m
- Elevation of Ridgeway Summit, the highest station on the register
- 3 m
- Elevation of Saltmarsh, the lowest
The station register. The register below is maintained by the Office and updated as stations are added, moved or closed. Elevation is the height of the station enclosure above mean sea level.
| Station | Location | Type | Elevation | Observing programme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Exchange | Central Exchange (principal site) | Staffed synoptic station | 42 m | Full programme, cloud base, sunshine, soil |
| Northgate Relay | Northgate Relay | Staffed synoptic station | 88 m | Full programme, cloud base, soil |
| Southbank Terminal | Southbank Terminal, on the coast | Staffed synoptic station | 6 m | Full programme, cloud base, sea state, soil |
| Eastfield Campus | Eastfield Campus | Automatic station | 51 m | Surface programme, sunshine |
| Westbrook Distribution Site | Westbrook Distribution Site | Automatic station | 124 m | Surface programme |
| Meridian Court | Meridian Court | Automatic station | 37 m | Surface programme |
| Harbour Head | Headland east of Southbank Terminal | Automatic station and weather radar | 71 m | Surface programme, sea state |
| Ridgeway Summit | Ridgeway uplands | Automatic station and weather radar | 412 m | Surface programme, sunshine |
| Fenmoor | Fenmoor lowlands | Automatic station | 9 m | Surface programme |
| Longwater | Longwater reservoir | Automatic station | 156 m | Surface programme |
| Kilnbridge | Kilnbridge valley | Automatic station | 63 m | Surface programme |
| Saltmarsh | Saltmarsh, on the southern coast | Automatic station | 3 m | Surface programme, sea state |
Radars, upper air and other installations. The installations below supplement the surface stations.
| Installation | Station | Programme | In service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather radar | Harbour Head | Volume scan every five minutes to 150 km | Commissioned 17 August 2026 |
| Weather radar | Ridgeway Summit | Volume scan every five minutes to 150 km | Commissioned 24 August 2026 |
| Upper-air station | Central Exchange | Radiosonde ascent at 00:00 and 12:00 to about 30 km | Ascents from 10 August 2026 |
| Tide and wave gauges | Southbank Terminal, Harbour Head, Saltmarsh | Water level and sea state every ten minutes | Transferred 10 August 2026 |
| Reference instruments | Central Exchange | Calibration of the network's thermometers, barometers and gauges | Held from 10 August 2026 |
Types of station. Stations on the register are of five kinds, which overlap: a station may be both automatic and coastal, or both a surface station and the site of a radar.
- Staffed synoptic station
- A station at which an observer is on duty, adding cloud, present weather and state of ground to the automatic record and checking the instruments daily. The three staffed stations are at Central Exchange, Northgate Relay and Southbank Terminal.
- Automatic station
- An unstaffed station reporting temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, rainfall and visibility hourly by data link to Central Exchange. Automatic stations are visited monthly for inspection.
- Weather radar
- A radar on high ground scanning the atmosphere for precipitation every five minutes. The two radars at Harbour Head and Ridgeway Summit together cover the whole Network and the sea approaches.
- Upper-air station
- The station at Central Exchange from which a radiosonde is released twice daily to measure the atmosphere above the Network. The sounding is the principal source of information on the upper winds and the stability of the air.
- Coastal station
- A station with a tide gauge and wave sensor in addition to the surface programme. Coastal stations support the coastal waters forecast and warnings of storm surge.
Proposing a new station. The Office will consider adding stations where they would improve the coverage of the network. Parts of the Network at present without a station within fifteen kilometres are the western uplands beyond Westbrook and the northern coast beyond Northgate Relay.
Step 1: Write to the Office
A member organisation that wishes a station to be sited at one of its premises writes to the Office describing the location, the ground available and the purpose the observations would serve.
Step 2: Site survey
An observer visits the site to assess its exposure, the distance from buildings and trees, the security of the instruments and the availability of power and a data link. A site that would give unrepresentative readings is not accepted.
Step 3: Installation and trial
Instruments are installed by the Office's technicians and the station reports on trial for three months, during which its readings are compared with those of neighbouring stations.
Step 4: Entry on the register
A station that has completed its trial satisfactorily is entered on the register, its observations enter the climate record and its opening is announced in the Newsroom.
Enquiries about the register, including errors in a station's entry and reports of damage to instruments, may be sent to contact@meteorology.gov.vin. For the records compiled from the stations' observations, see Climate Records; for the forecasts made from them, see Forecasts.