The problem with a lot of the cheaper weather stations is that they aren’t always the most accurate, especially at lower temperatures and also as the unit gets older.

So what can you do to get a more accurate idea of the weather? You’ll need to spend a bit more money, like shelling out for this incredible bit of kit from Youshiko.

For the extra pounds you pay, you get a professional weather sensor that combines technology that allows it to read not only temperature and humidity at a higher degree of accuracy, but also other factors such as the wind direction and speed, and the amount of rainfall.

These extra features can come in very useful for all manner of situations. Let’s take the wind speed and direction information for example. If you’re planning a bike ride or a jog, these things could come in very handy.

The screen displays a lot more information than what you would normally see on a budget weather station, and at first glance it can seem like there’s a little too much going on, but after spending 5 minutes with it, you come to appreciate the extra readings. I particularly liked the fact that it showed you the wind chill, as I live in a place where that can seriously affect how comfortable or uncomfortable it is to spend time outside.

There is also a heat index display which can help you to understand the true heat stress temperature by combining humidity with temperature data. It only takes a few minutes online to learn how to read one of these indexes and they can be very useful.

This weather station comes with other features such as an alarm clock and an ice pre-alert, and you can set alerts for high and low temperatures and humidity levels.

The screen has three different colour modes that you can play around with to find something that you like, but they are all good and don’t alter the information on the screen in a way that makes it harder to read. There are also high and low brightness modes.

There are honestly too many features to list here without it seeming like I’m droning on, but that isn’t the only reason to consider this incredible weather station. The build quality is superb on both the screen and the sensor too.

Downsides with this model is that there is no option to use another power source other than mains or AAA batteries so you have to stay on top of that to keep it working optimally, and also after following the instructions with my initial setup, there were a few issues. However, one call to the helpline and I was talked through it, by excellent customer service staff. After that it worked perfectly.

This is an excellent product if you don’t mind paying the extra for it.

Pros

• High degree of accuracy sets this weather station apart
• Can measure wind speed and rainfall as well as temperature and humidity
• You can even check on the wind chill which comes in very handy in the UK
• Excellent build quality on both the screen and the sensor

Cons

• No other option but to use AAA batteries

Before you buy, let’s have a look at how easy setup is on this sensible review – apologies for the weird noises on intro:

For such a small, compact device, the Climenet CM9088 digital wireless weather station packs a lot of info onto its screen while still managing to not seem cluttered.

Of course, it has both indoor and outdoor readings for humidty and temperature, but in addition to those there are also a few other sections of the screen dedicated to various data displays.

For instance, the bottom of the screen shows the DFS radio controlled date and current time, and just above that is a similarly sized section dedicated to showing you pressure readings in a graph format.

You can also see the sunrise and sunset times, which can come in handy for gardeners wanting to get an early start, and at the very top of the screen are two images with directional arrows between them to show you the current, and expected, overall weather condition.

Want to be alerted when certain types of weather arise? No problem, you can set up alarms that do just that, and also store your maximum and minimum records for temperature, humidity, etc. There is also an alarm clock with a snooze function if you’d like to replace your alarm clock.

There was a bit more to setting up this weather station than some of the other models we tested, but the instructions do a good job of guiding you through the process and even advise where to look online for some of the information required to get this product up and running properly.

The biggest drawback of this weather station for me is the outdoor sensor. To be more clear, it’s the fact that the sensor isn’t completely weatherproof and can actually be damaged by excessive rain and direct sunlight, so finding the right spot to set it up in, where I could leave it without worry, was a bit of a hassle.

Also, resetting the external maximum and minimum records can be a bit fiddly and more complicated than it needs to be.

Apart from those two faults, this is a great little weather station at a price point where you expect a few niggles. The features of reading the pressure and showing the weather changes are also nice extras.

Pros

• Has both indoor and outdoor readings
• DFS radio controlled date and time
• Pressure readings in graph format are a nice touch
• Sunrise and sunset times
• Can set alarms for certain weather types

Cons

• Sensor isn’t completely waterproof and needs to be set up under cover

If you follow the link we have provided to the product page, you will see that Amazon has picked this weather station as one of its ‘choice’ models, meaning that they think it offers outstanding quality at a very fair price point. I don’t always agree with these Amazon choice products but this time I think they got it right.

The Kalawen weather station sports probably the best screen out of all our reviews today. It is multi coloured and every number, Symbol, and image is very clearly seen even from a distance away. I particularly liked the colour images for the moon phases and general weather forecasts- sunny, slightly cloudy, cloudy, rainy, heavy rain, and snowy.

There is also a section of the screen, in the bottom right, that is there for displaying the air pressure both in number and graph format.

In addition to this there is an alarm clock with snooze feature, backlight, temperature and humidity levels, date and time, and temperature alarm features. You can also change the ringtone used by the alarm.

All of these things are easy to program as there are clearly marked buttons on the side of the screen dedicated to specific functions, including a MEM button for displaying your max/min temperature.

Included in the box is a 100-240V power adapter that you can use with a USB cable to power the weather station, or you can choose to use batteries instead. Like the vast majority of these digital weather stations, you will need to invest in some AAAs anyway for the outdoor sensor.

There are three channels available to use with the Kalawen so you have the option of purchasing some more outdoor sensors. Having three sensors set up in different parts of your garden would certainly let you know if there were any problems with the accuracy of the readings as you would have the others to compare.

The instructions that came with the model are far from great, but thankfully, setting up was not too difficult and there are tutorials available online, though you shouldn’t really need them anyway.

The only other thing I didn’t like about the Karawen weather station was that certain parts of the screen display were flashing all the time and it personally got on my nerves after a while. Don’t know whose decision it was to have it that way but it was a bad one.

Those two gripes are the only ones I have tough to be honest, and this is a good value product.

Pros

• Very clear and easy to read screen
• Screen shows moon phases in colour images
• Alarm clock with changeable ring tone
• USB and power adapter included
• Can be used with up to three sensors at a time

Cons

• Poor instructions, but thankfully setting up wasn’t difficult thanks to youtube tutorials

Probably the best budget choice available at the moment, the ThermoPro TP55 has been pleasing the overwhelming majority of people that have bought it, with many praising its wide range of features and modes.

This low-cost twin set of weather stations is perfect for people who like their gadgets to be unobtrusive as they only measure 9.3 x 8.3 x 6.2 cm, and weigh in at just 280 Grams per piece. The fact that there are two of them also gives you a chance to see the differences in humidity, temperature, etc. in various parts of the house.

Despite its compact dimensions, the screen is actually fairly large and the way the information is displayed is very easy to read. The screen is basically split into two halves, with the upper part showing the temperature in large digits, and the lower part showing the humidity in even larger numbers. There are highs and lows next to each of these main readings, and at the bottom of the screen there are three words- dry, comfort, and wet, referring to the humidity.

On the back of the device there is a hole that you can use for hanging it on the wall, or you can use the magnet that comes with it for the same purpose. If you prefer to have your weather station free standing, there is that option too.

If you want to check on things at night, you only have to touch the button on the bezel and the screen will be illuminated with a backlight. Unlike the more common green backlight, this one is an orangey yellow and is quite bright, but it only stays on for a brief moment and turns off again, which is a little annoying.

The ThermoPro TP54 is the little brother of the TP55. However, in our tests we found that the younger sibling was actually more accurate on both temperature and humidity. There are times when the readings were out by more than the degree or two that ThermoPro claims, but it wasn’t much, and you can’t expect complete precision for this price.

Pros

• Very compact devices are perfect for people who like small tech
• Two weather stations for a very reasonable price
• Screen is large for such small devices
• More accurate than the more expensive TP55 model
• Nice bright backlight in an orange / yellow colour

Cons

• Backlight only stays on for a short time

One of the more stylish models that I’ve ever come across, Technoline’s Smart Effects WS6830 also boasts all the features you could want from a home weather station, and this combination of looks and practicality has made it a bestseller.

When I say this is stylish, I’m not kidding. There are four circular screens with golden edges set into a dark coloured casing. The overall effect is really eye-catching, albeit in a not too over the top way.

The first of the four screens shows the time, which is set automatically through a signal it receives from a transmitter in cumbria. However, when it arrives it is set to European time, and so you’ll have to change the settings to GMT. This is actually a little bit fiddly, and not the most intuitive, but you only have to set it up once and then it will always be extremely accurate.

The second top screen shows the current weather conditions in the form of a graphical image, while the two lower screens show the temperatures for outdoor and indoor in large and clear numbers.

As well as showing you the temperature and other weather related info, this device also doubles up as an alarm clock and has dual alarms and even a snooze feature. The controls for this are located on the back of the weather station though, so if you want to make use of this feature, you probably don’t want to wall mount it.

Amber is the colour chosen for the backlight on this weather station, and I have to say it goes very well with the overall design and styling. I liked the fact that there are multiple brightness settings for the backlight to choose from too.

Technoline’s WS6830 model comes with an outdoor sensor to help you get an accurate idea of the weather conditions outside. It works well if it is very close to the house, but if set further away, the signal doesn’t come through the walls of the house that well.

So, I guess I’d sum up this item as a good choice for people who want a bit of classiness from their weather station, but at the same time need a good level of accuracy for temperatures inside and outdoors.

Pros

• Extremely sleek and stylish looking weather station
• Good level of accuracy for temperature and humidity
• Doubles up as an alarm clock
• Multiple brightness modes for the backlight
• Solidly constructed from good materials

Cons

• Sensor needs to be set up in a good position for the signal to come through the walls

This Bresser weather station goes against the trend of having very compact weather stations, and instead gives you a large device that you can read from a distance.

There’s a lot of information on the screen of the 224x23x224 mm device, but thanks to its size it never seems cramped or difficult to discern, especially the time which is shown in very large digits.

You can also see the temperature and humidity percentage for both indoors and outside, thanks to the sensor that comes with the weather station. Not only that, but you get a graphical representation of the current weather conditions. As if that wasn’t enough, the Bresser will even give you a weather forecast for the next 12 hours.

On the back of the machine are the controls for setting the alarm clock such as that all important snooze feature, which is the largest and easiest to locate when you’re still half asleep. In addition to the clock controls, you’ll also find buttons and switches for things like changing the temperature from celsius to fahrenheit and changing channels if you have more than one sensor. Again, having the buttons on the back might not be great if you intend to hang it on a wall.

The clock will set itself but it will set to European time, so you have to change it to be minus one hour in manual mode unless you want to keep having to remember to cut one hour off the time. I suppose it’d be an excuse for being an hour late to work, but I wouldn’t recommend trying that one out.

Setting up the outdoor sensor was quick and painless. In fact, it only took a few minutes. I wish the signal was a bit more powerful though, and I had to set up the weather station close to a window that had a clear view of the sensor to get good readings.

The Bresser isn’t perfect, and there are a couple of things that might annoy some people, but overall it is a good weather station that gives pretty accurate readings for temperature and humidity, and displays them on a nice, large, screen.

Pros

• Very large screen that is easy to read
• Shows humidity and temperature for indoors and outdoors
• 12 hour weather forecast
• Can change the temperature from celsius to Fahrenheit
• Setting up the sensor is very quick and easy

Cons

• Need to set the clock on manual mode for UK time