How to Display Weather Data on Your Website

A new tutorial is available for uploading weather data to your website.

Displaying your weather station’s data on the Internet is a great way to disseminate it — whether for general public information or to make it available simultaneously to multiple parties involved in an Incident Response for example, responders, dispatchers, and commanders.

Columbia Weather Systems offers two options for posting weather data to the Internet – WeatherMaster Software™ and the Weather MicroServer.™ Both of these options can automatically upload weather data to your website. Additionally, the MicroServer offers automatic upload to CWOP and Weather Underground websites.

The new tutorial gives step-by-step instructions for setting up your web page and configuring the Weather MicroServer to automatically FTP XML files to it.

Our sample webpage, illustrated above: www.columbiaweather.com/orionweather_3.php

Product Development Connects at Columbia Weather

Evidence of our commitment to product development takes several forms at Columbia Weather. One is responding to expressed customer requests - for example the portable and vehicle-mount system configurations. Another is taking advantage of the latest new technology 1) to create new products like the Magellan Weather Station and the Weather MicroServer, and 2) to improve our existing meteorological products. This announcement falls into the latter category.

For Orion and Magellan exterior cable connections, CWS has upgraded to an IP68 connector ~ the maximum level of Ingress Protection. These connectors are even more resistant to dust, oil and salt water, making them ideal for use in hostile environments such as hazmat, marine, process industries and manufacturing.

Additionally, these new connectors improve the ease of installing your weather station. The connectors are keyed for easy alignment. A screw-on collar secures the connection and provides additional protection from the elements.

High Winds in Oregon

Some additional extreme weather reported by Steve Pierce, fellow AMS member and weather aficionado: "Here is a quick video I edited together after an amazing day at Crown Point (just east of Portland) last week. It was supposed to be windy that day. We had no idea how windy it would actually be! I think you will get a good laugh out of this. I am calling it, The Crown Point 100mph Experiment. For those of us who were there in person, it was an amazing experience."

Click here to see the video

Winter Weather: Extreme Colds Mark December

Jan. 2010 --Thankfully our offices were closed on December 29, so our employees didn't get stuck on their homebound commute when an unexpected snowstorm hit the Portland metro area.

How is your winter shaping up? Email your winter weather stories to info@columbiaweather.com.

We had unusual weather throughout the month of December with extra cold temperatures earlier in the month. Fellow Oregon AMS* member Steve Pierce has compiled the following data as recorded at the Portland International Airport (PDX) ---

• December 2009's monthly mean temperature was 35.6 degrees, nearly 5 degrees below normal.

• December 2009 also saw the coldest stretch of overnight low temperatures in Portland Airport history, this early in the winter season, averaging 13.25 degrees from 12/8 to 12/11. This barely edges out the exact same timeframe in 1972 (12/8/72 to 12/11/72) when PDX averaged 13.75 degrees.

• PDX recorded the single highest number of sub-freezing (32 or colder) December overnight low temperatures in nearly 25 years. There were 19 days with overnight lows at or below 32 degrees at PDX in December of 2009. The last time PDX saw more sub-freezing overnight lows in the month of December was in December 1985 when PDX recorded 25 days at or below 32 degrees.

(Note - The period of record used for this analysis is 1940-2009.)

Steve Pierce is an Executive Councilor on the board of the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (*AMS).

The graphs below show December 2009 as recorded at our Hillsboro, Oregon office. Data was acquired from our Capricorn 2000 Weather Station and graphed using WeatherMaster Software.

Internet Weather Monitoring and Network Auto-Updates

Internet weather monitoring. The Weather MicroServer now has a real-time display screen serving up live weather data in a graphical user interface. (Viewable on Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Opera web browsers.) The R-T display does not require a screen refresh. It displays the main weather parameters and can be customized if required. Measurement units can be configured by the user.

Automatic network updates. The Weather MicroServer is now compatible with CWOP and Weather Underground weather networks. CWS weather stations with a MicroServer can now automatically update their data to these network sites.

(CWOP = Citizen Weather Observer Program)

Refract House Wins Third Place with OrionLX Weather Station

Net-zero energy consumption is the dream of every environmentally-conscious homeowner - a goal that is closer to becoming reality helped along by the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.) Solar Decathlon.

Every other year, the D.O.E. brings together 20 teams from universities around the world to design and construct houses with a goal of net-zero energy consumption. The homes are displayed on the Mall in Washington DC, tested and ranked.

For the October 2009 competition, two U.S. teams elected to use Orion Weather Stations to monitor weather parameters for their houses.The weather stations are used for environmental monitoring to improve energy efficiency. With the Weather MicroServer, weather parameters are also used to control automated functions like window shades.

Third place winner was Refract House, a combined effort from Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts. Its theme was "promoting the idea of living light" - harnessing sunlight, lightening the carbon footprint, and enlightening today's consumers.

See more photos and read comments by a participant by clicking on the title link.

Sheriff Command Trailer Big Screen Weather Monitor

Nomad Global Communication Solutions took “big screen” to the next level when they built an emergency command trailer for Grafton County Sheriff’s Department (NH). Weather data is available for all to see on the side of the vehicle. The system uses a Capricorn 2000 Vehicle-Mount Weather Station with WeatherMaster Software.

Nomad GCS is a Montana-based specialty vehicle manufacturer with an innovative and extensive product line designed to support emergency personnel and first responders when they need it the most.

www.nomadtechs.com