Meteorological conditions play an important role in the performance of modern large telescopes.
In the atmospheric boundary layer near the surface, meteorological quantities such as the gradients of temperature in time and space and turbulence parameters are directly related to telescope design and construction specifications. Also, since atmospheric boundary layer conditions may vary significantly over short distances where the topography is complex, an objective evaluation and comparison of candidate sites for SALT within the area of Sutherland Observatory is warranted. The study was conducted in two parts. A 10m-high meteorological mast was equipped to measure wind speed, wind direction, temperature and relative humidity. The purpose of these observations was to obtain contemporaneous measurements of the seeing at the reference site and each of the candidate sites so that an objective ranking of candidate site quality could be made.