Barometric pressure and how it affects animals

Barometric pressure has a direct effect on life around us. The amount of atmospheric pressure is constantly changing and sudden changes can create health problems such as migraines in people and affect the behavior of animals. Barometric pressure is a highly searched criterion that hits about 201,000 times per month on average within the United States and achieves more than 300,000 searches with the barometric pressure spell.

Barometric pressure measures the amount of downward force exerted by the atmosphere within a specific column of air. Barometric pressure travels in terms of peaks, planes, and valleys and will rise and fall accordingly. Atmospheric pressure is a key means of predicting the weather 12 to 24 hours in advance and has an accuracy rate of 70%. Pressure sensors will detect a drop in atmospheric pressure as inclement weather approaches. Typically, the pressure drops in front of a weather system and then will increase as weather systems move out of the area. High pressure generally implies bright, blue, clear days or nights, while periods of normal pressure result in scattered clouds. As the atmospheric pressure gauge drops, expect an increase in clouds and possibly storms as the atmospheric pressure continues to drop.

As people can feel the effects of barometric pressure changes in terms of earache, dizziness or headaches, pressure changes affect animals as well. Many animals are odor dependent, and odor is highly dependent on atmospheric pressure. When there is low pressure in the area, the scent will travel higher and higher in the atmosphere, but as the millibars continue to fall and cause rain, fog, or snow, the scent will stick to the ground and last longer. On high pressure days, the smell will dissipate quickly.

The general relationship between barometric pressure and changing climatic conditions results in changes in the behavior of animals. Both hunters and fishermen monitor sudden drops in millibars to predict an increase in animal movement. This increase in movement can be attributed to animals or fish waiting for inclement weather and survival instincts to feed and accumulate energy to survive a period of discomfort associated with long-lasting storms.

Hunters, fishermen, and individuals sensitive to changes in barometric pressure can benefit from monitoring and tracking barometric pressure readings from home weather stations and gauges. There are several types of pressure sensors and monitors that are available in the market. Prices on eBay range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars for high-end home weather stations that come with a variety of external sensors to measure wind direction, barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity. The barometric pressure sensor on many models tracks the last 24 hours of pressure readings allowing the user to determine if the pressure is stable, rising or falling at any given time. The following devices are popular with weather monitoring enthusiasts:

The Honeywell TE923 is a luxury weather station that costs between $ 200 and $ 300 on Amazon.com and uses external sensors such as the barometric pressure sensor, temperature and humidity sensors, UV sensor to measure harmful levels of UV and wind sensors. and rain.

The MFJ 196RC Deluxe Wireless Atomic Weather Station is offered on eBay for just under $ 200 and also uses external weather sensors to measure and display changes in barometric pressure, wind direction, temperature, and humidity.

One of the disadvantages of this type of home weather station is the difficulty of storing these measurements. All the monitors I’ve seen on eBay and Amazon show roughly the same information with the same graphics. While the Honeywell Weather Station stores 24 hours of atmospheric pressure readings, the MFJ Weather Station stores 12 to 20 hours of readings. From what I can tell, these popular models don’t write every data point to an external system or to its memory for long-term analysis. Don’t let that stop you from exploring or purchasing one of these weather stations, as NOAA collects this type of data from across the country. I think you can subscribe to your feed and bring historical and current data for a specific area.

Spending time and money monitoring and tracking barometric pressure changes can help determine the type of behavior animals will exhibit. By understanding how increases and decreases in barometric pressure readings will influence the behavior of animals, a hunter or fisherman can more effectively prepare his strategy for how to hunt or fish.