What is it called when a wind sensor has not changed in 30 min and the temperature is below 0°? A. Icing B. Broken C. Invalid D. Frozen
The correct answer and explanation is:
Correct Answer: A. Icing
When a wind sensor has not changed in 30 minutes and the temperature is below 0°C, the condition is referred to as icing. Icing occurs when moisture in the atmosphere freezes upon contact with cold surfaces, such as the sensor’s components. This is a common issue in cold climates or during winter storms where supercooled water droplets exist in the air.
Wind sensors, particularly anemometers and wind vanes, rely on physical movement to detect wind speed and direction. If ice forms on the moving parts of these sensors, it can cause them to stick or seize completely. As a result, the sensor may stop reporting changes in wind speed or direction, which can be falsely interpreted as calm or unchanging weather.
This is especially problematic in meteorological stations, aviation, and maritime applications where accurate wind data is crucial for safety and forecasting. Unlike a broken sensor, which might stop reporting entirely or generate error codes, a sensor affected by icing might still transmit data—but the data remains static and misleading.
The other options—broken, invalid, or frozen—do not fully describe the specific situation:
- “Broken” implies a malfunction not necessarily related to environmental conditions.
- “Invalid” suggests a data error or software issue, not a mechanical/environmental problem.
- “Frozen” may seem close, but it lacks the specific implication of ice buildup that disrupts sensor movement.
“Icing” is a technical term used in meteorology and equipment maintenance to describe the condition where ice buildup on instruments leads to inoperative or inaccurate readings. Identifying icing is important so that corrective action—like using heated sensors or flagging the data as unreliable—can be taken to maintain data quality.