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 like migraines in people that affect the behavior of animals. Barometric pressure is a highly searched criteria reaching around 201,000 times per month on average within the United States and achieving over 300,000 searches using the barometric pressure spelling.
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, flats, and troughs 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. Pressure typically drops in front of a weather system and then rises as the weather system moves away from the area. High pressure generally involves bright, blue, clear days or nights, while periods of normal pressure result in scattered clouds. As the air pressure gauge drops, expect increased clouds and possibly thunderstorms as air pressure continues to drop.
Just as people can feel the effects of barometric pressure changes in terms of earaches, dizziness, or headaches, animals are also affected by pressure changes. Many animals depend on scent, and scent is highly dependent on atmospheric pressure. When the pressure is low in the area, the scent will travel farther and higher in the atmosphere, but as the millibars continue to drop, resulting in rain, fog, or snow, the scent will hug the ground and last longer. On high pressure days, the odor will dissipate quickly.
The general relationship between barometric pressure and changing weather conditions results in changes in animal behavior. 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 build up energy to survive a period of discomfort associated with long-lasting storms.
Hunters, anglers, and those 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 available on 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 keeps track of the last 24 hours of pressure readings that allow 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 deluxe weather station that costs between $200 and $300 on Amazon.com and uses external sensors such as a barometric pressure sensor, temperature and humidity sensors, a UV sensor to measure harmful UV levels, and wind and rain sensors. .
The MFJ 196RC Deluxe Wireless Atomic Weather Station is being 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 in storing these measurements. All the monitors I have 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. As far as I can tell, these popular models don’t write each data point to an external system or into 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 their feed and bring historical and current data for a specific area.
Spending time and money to monitor and track barometric pressure changes can help determine the type of behavior animals will exhibit. By understanding how the rise and fall of barometric pressure readings will influence animal behavior, a hunter or fisherman will be able to more effectively prepare their strategy on how to hunt or fish.
