The holiday shopping season is here, and there are some great deals on weather gifts. We’ve rounded up 22 (that’s not a typo!) gifts for weather lovers for you to consider for the weather nerd in your life this holiday season, no matter the holiday you’re shopping for, whether it be Christmas, Hannukah, Festivus, or whatever you celebrate!
We have a cool gift for just about every type of weather geek on your list, but we know this list is pretty big. To help you out, we’ve organized this list into sections. You can use the menu below to skip around.
Before You Shop
Before diving into our deals, ensure you’re an Amazon Prime member! Some deals are Prime Exclusives, so joining now gets you a 30-day free trial required to take advantage of most deals, and you can cancel at any time!
Not sure what to get? Let them pick. Amazon also offers Prime gift memberships for as little as $39. (We know from experience as weather geeks that you’ll buy much more once you start weather-watching!)
Weather Station Gift Ideas
Home weather stations are great gifts for someone who likes the weather. Your loved one can take daily observations and watch weather trends in their backyard. In our opinion, there are three great options to pick from here, with our personal favorite being the Ambient Weather WS-2902C. Here are our current picks.
The Ambient Weather WS-2902 is surprisingly feature-packed and accurate, given its price. Many of the cheap wireless home weather stations we've tested had issues that prevented us from genuinely recommending them. The WS-2902 does not.
The WS-2902 isn't as accurate as the WS-5000 or Davis weather stations, but it's also less than half the price. The connectivity is a standout feature at its price point, with full smart-home capabilities thanks to IFTTT, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa support. Like the WS-5000, connecting the station to AmbientWeather.net allows you to share data with Weather Underground and access weather station data through the app or a web-based portal.
If you can't justify the price of other weather stations on our list, the Ambient Weather WS-2902 is the best budget model available. The LCD display console in the WS-2902 is much improved over previous models. When we tested the WS-2902A, the console suffered from readability problems beyond a 30-degree angle, which is far less of a problem now.
The WS-2902 weather station has all the features you'd expect including indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, and barometric pressure. A nice surprise is the inclusion of a fairly accurate UV/light sensor, something you typically don't see on other home weather stations even in this price range.
The Ambient Weather WS-2902 is an excellent weather gift idea for those looking to monitor their backyard weather conditions. This home weather station is wireless with an easy-to-read LCD color display with a weather forecast icon that changes based on the weather data it tracks.
The Ambient Weather WS-2902 includes:
- Wind speed and direction
- UV and solar radiation sensors
- Temperature and humidity sensors
- Barometer
- Rain gauge
We have had a chance to test the AcuRite Atlas. While it didn't score high enough to appear on our best home weather stations list, it is an inexpensive alternative to more expensive models like the Tempest and Davis Vantage Vue, especially with the optional lightning detection.
One area where AcuRite knocks it out of the park is their web and mobile app. It's easy to use, responsive, and uncluttered. But like most AcuRite stations, the instrumentation isn't as high quality.
In our tests, we found our test unit undercounted rainfall, sometimes significantly. And while an initial issue with the rain gauge caused the first Atlas units to have unusable lightning data, even after it was fixed its nowhere near as sensitive as the Tempest's detector.
Still, we'd see this as a perfect alternative for those that might not have the budget for a mid-range or pro-grade home weather station.
Compared to other home weather stations, the AcuRite Atlas provides easier access to weather information and monitoring from multiple devices simultaneously using My AcuRite software. The HD display is easy to read and shows weather information such as heat index, dew point, and even feels like temperature in real time.
The Acurite Iris Professional Weather Station can measure:
- Indoor and outdoor temperature
- Humidity
- Wind speed and direction
- UV and light intensity
- Barometric pressure
- Rainfall
- Super quick setup
- Outstanding lightning detection
- Fairly accurate instrumentation
- Ready for the smart home
- The haptic rain sensor doesn’t measure rainfall accurately enough
- No expandability
With almost zero maintenance, the Tempest Weather System is easy to install and operate, giving accurate local weather readings. This weather station is likely to go on sale and makes an excellent gift for weather enthusiasts who might find lightning detection a must-have.
The Tempest Weather System can measure:
- UV and solar radiation
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Barometric pressure
- Wind speed and direction
- Lightning strikes
- Rainfall through an innovative haptic rain gauge
Handheld Weather Station Gift Ideas
A handheld weather station is a must-have if they already have a home weather station. They range from simple to complex, but these three options are our favorites right now, and we know the weather geek in your life will love getting one as a gift this holiday. Unfortunately, sales are very rare on Kestrels, but we will highlight the best deals in our Gift Guide if we catch them!
Kestrel 2000 Pocket Wind And Temperature Meter
The Kestrel 2000 adds a temperature sensor to the Kestrel 1000, which we think makes it the better deal.
Kestrel 1000 Pocket Wind Meter
The entry-level Kestrel 1000 measures wind speeds only and is perfect for budget-conscious weather watcher.
Ambient Weather WM-5 Handheld Weather Meter
While not as accurate as the Kestrel meters, the WM-5 still offers much of what the mid-range models do, but at a much cheaper price.
Weather Book Gift Ideas
Not everybody needs a home weather station. If they love to read, we’ve spotted a few good books on Amazon that we think are great gift options. (And while you’re at it, a Kindle Unlimited membership is an equally good choice).
The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras
Chronicling the life and tragic death of storm chaser Tim Samaras.
This book is a good gift for tornado lovers, storm chasers, and weather enthusiasts who want a closer look at storm chasing life and its dangers. Tornadoes can be devastatingly destructive but also represent a beautiful part of nature, as storm chaser Tim Samaras tragically found out.
Weather Watch: An Introduction to America's Weather and Climate
Read our book all about American weather, written by Ed Oswald.
Experience the fascinating world of weather with the second edition of Weather Watch: An Introduction to America's Weather and Climate. This book doesn't just explain weather and climate concepts—it brings them to life.
Weather Watch is perfect for teenagers and adults who wish to deepen their understanding of the dynamic world of meteorology. Simplifying the complex, this book breaks down the science of weather into smaller, easily digestible concepts, allowing you to build on your knowledge with each chapter.
Here's what to expect:
- Detailed insights on clouds, pressure and wind, reading weather maps, hurricanes, and tropical storms
- Enlightening discussion on climate change
- Essential guidance on purchasing a weather station
- Critical information on severe weather and tornadoes
- Learning how to forecast the weather yourself
This second edition comes completely reformatted with over 30 pages of new content, including advanced weather map analysis and space weather. It's more visually appealing with additional illustrations and graphics. Each chapter now ends with handy links for more in-depth learning, and sprinkled throughout the book are captivating American weather events, serving as real-life illustrations of introduced concepts.
Weather Radio/Emergency Radio Gift Ideas
A weather or emergency radio is one of the best gifts we can think of for weather lovers. The National Weather Service broadcasts weather information 24/7 on specialized frequencies, which you can use a weather radio or emergency radio to tune into.
Emergency radios take it to the next level, able to power themselves through a hand crank or solar panel — perfect for when the power goes out.
Midland's top-of-the-line weather alert radio can do it all. It doubles as an alarm clock and weather radio, has a USB outlet to allow you to charge your other devices, and has up to 25 programmable locations to receive alerts.
Midland's best-selling weather radio offers SAME support and decent performance at a price that anyone can afford.
The successor to the Sidekick is pretty impressive.
Lightning Detector Gift Ideas
Lightning detectors aren’t the most incredible weather-related gifts, but we’d argue it’s probably the one gift on this list that might save your life. Often lightning strikes well ahead of a thunderstorm, and in some situations, you might not even know a thunderstorm is on its way. Buying a lightning detector keeps the weather nerds you care about safe and sound, especially if they’re storm chasing.
The American-made TALOS is one of the best-selling lightning detectors on Amazon, thanks to its superior lightning detection capabilities.
While not as good as the TALOS in eliminating interference, this model scores well thanks to long battery life.
General Tools makes a lot of tools, including this well-reviewed lightning detector.
Alert HD uses vibrate and audible warning alerts to alert you to nearby strikes, even if you can’t see them.
Yet More Great Weather Gifts
We’ve come to the end of our list of the best weather gifts, but we have a few more unique gift ideas that we think will make any weather enthusiast happy.
Digital gauges are very popular; however, you’ll never get the precise measurements you will with an analog rain gauge, especially the Stratus Precision Rain Gauge. Made of UV-resistant polycarbonate plastic, the Stratus can measure up to 11″ of rain (1″ in the inner tube and up to 10″ in the outer cylinder.
You’ll get precise rainfall readings to .01″, and the Stratus is built to National Weather Service standards. The Stratus is the preferred rain gauge if you’re planning to join a rainfall reporting network like CoCoRAHS.
The Stratus comes with a mounting bracket that you can place on a post and easily slide the Stratus on and off the bracket to measure rainfall and clean the gauge. While it’s as expensive as some digital rain gauges, you’ll be able to measure both rain and snow, something digital gauges cannot do.
In addition to the thermometer, Galileo also used a glass barometer to study differences in air pressure. AcuRite has combined both these instruments into a nice piece measuring eight inches long and eight inches high, which looks great on a desk.
The Fitzroy Storm Glass is a weather forecasting tool used by sailors in the 19th century. The glass is filled with a mixture of water and chemicals, and the crystals that form within the glass can predict the weather. According to legend, the weather will be fair if the crystals are clear. If they are cloudy, then it will be rainy. If they are clear, then the weather is fair. While the scientific evidence for this claim is scant, many people still believe in the power of the Fitzroy Storm Glass. As a result, it has become a popular decoration in homes and offices.
The Storm Glass Weather Predictor is an excellent gift for weather geeks. With a simple yet elegant design, the Storm Glass Weather Predictor is a great decorative piece for the home that you can place anywhere.
More than a piece of home decor, the Storm Glass Weather Predictor is a “weather instrument” that predicts weather changes. The chemical mixture inside the glass experiences changes in crystallization based on weather conditions. For more precise weather forecasting, the weather glass should be placed near a window, outdoors, or in areas exposed to fresh air. However, there’s no objective evidence it works, but it’s a great conversation piece.
Easy to assemble and made with pure copper, Good Directions' Majestic Eagle Weathervane is a fitting gift for any weather fanatic. To identify the wind direction, you can place this functional wind vane on top of your home, garage, backyard, or patio.
This majestic eagle weathervane has a refined look and is made with pure copper, and can significantly contribute to your home's outdoor scenery aesthetic. And if you prefer an alternative design, there is also an American Bald Eagle version.
The 4M Weather Station Kit provides all the essential tools to observe weather phenomena around the home. Your children can record local weather conditions with the included thermometer, wind vane, rain gauge, and compass. Along with providing a great introduction to meteorology, the kit offers a unique opportunity to observe moisture and temperature effects. The instructional booklet describes creating a soda bottle terrarium and teaches kids about the greenhouse effect on plants. This more advanced kit is appropriate for kids over eight years old and tweens.
The "Trust Me I'm a Meteorologist" mug is a unique weather-related gift for the meteorologist who often hears they're paid well to be wrong. Especially for meteorologists, this mug is a fitting reminder of the difficulty of weather forecasting with an added layer of work humor. The mug is microwave-safe. However, it should be hand-washed.
Are you looking for more weather gift ideas? We’ve got you covered. Our main website, The Weather Station Experts, reviews dozens of weather gadgets! And keep checking back here, we’ll update this list regularly (and year-round) to help you find the perfect weather gift.
