Columbia Weather Systems

Gresham Fire and Emergency Services, Oregon's Region 3 Hazmat Team, utilizes a unique dual-mount option from Columbia Weather Systems. Their weather station can be used for both vehicle-mount and portable weather station configurations. On a dual-mount weather monitoring system, mounting hardware is installed permanently on a vehicle and the portable mounting system is stowed. The portable installation includes a tripod mast as well as a weatherproof enclosure with battery pack and transceivers. Weather sensors are easily mounted to either mast depending on the situation. Quick-cable connectors provide sensitive electronic wiring with maximum protection from harsh environmental elements as well as easy installation of the weather station sensor array. For monitoring weather parameters, Gresham uses a Weather Display console mounted inside the vehicle as well as WeatherMaster Software

Four Orion LX Weather Stations are used for "isolated weather monitoring for security equipment" at Test Site C-3 of the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Eglin AFB is the premier test and evaluation center for Air Force air delivered weapons, navigation/guidance systems and Command and Control systems. Orion LX Weather Stations utilize the all-in-one sensor head with ultrasonic wind speed and direction, impact rainfall, temperature, humidity and barometric pressure in conjunction with the Weather MicroServer . The Weather MicroServer offers XML, FTP and common industrial interfaces.

Under the hood of LumenHAUS, Virginia Tech's winning entry in the Solar Decathlon Europe. The Orion sensor head is mounted on a tower shown at right. Virginia Tech uses the 4-20 mA option to connect the weather station to a PLC (programmable logic controller). Robert Schubert, Associate Dean of Research, College of Architecture and Urban Studies, reports that "weather station information is used for monitoring outside conditions, as well as taking reactive and anticipatory actions." Such actions might include closing shades and insulating panels based on temperature and/or wind conditions. LumenHAUS is on display at the GreenBuild Convention, Millenium Park in Chicago November 17 - 20. See more pictures on Flickr or Facebook For more information: Orion 420 Weather Station LumenHAUS

Our local Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society is the largest non-student chapter with over 125 members. A record crowd turned out for the annual October Winter Weather predictions -- 350 capacity in the OMSI Auditorium with overflow in the foyer. View the Presentations

Good news for US federal government agencies! We have successfully renewed our Government Services Administration (GSA) contract. Our first Capricorn weather station was awarded a GSA contract about 20 years ago. Contracts are reviewed every five years. This recent contract modification includes updating our GSA products to include all our latest weather stations and accessories such as the Magellan Weather Station ™ with internal compass, the Orion 420 Weather Station ™ with 4-20 mA output, and the Internet-ready Weather MicroServer ™. GSA Contract Number: GS-07F-5454R

In case you've been wondering, results of the Solar Decathlon Europe are in and "lumenHAUS" won! In the photo, the team celebrates their victory with trophy in hand. Congratulations! (Scroll down for more details on the entry.) Photo courtesy of SDEurope.

Columbia Weather Systems is shipping eight Magellan portable weather stations™ to the Des Moines Fire Department. According to Captain Robert Cox, the state of Iowa has set up seven WMD Hazmat teams to respond to WMD events anywhere in the state. Apparatus for each team will be outfitted with a portable weather station and WeatherMaster Software™ for use on all hazmat runs to support decisions such as evacuation of downwind areas. Magellan weather stations offer sonic wind speed and direction, temperature, pressure and humidity measurements with an internal compass for automatic alignment of wind direction. Rugged metal construction makes them ideal for installation or deployment in hazardous conditions. WeatherMaster Software provides computer weather monitoring with automatic interface to CAMEO/ALOHA and hazmat plume dispersion software.

CWS President Nader Khoury recently travelled to Prescott, ON, Canada to train members of the Canadian Coast Guard on the Orion Weather Station in preparation for their installation in Killiniq, Nunavut at the extreme northern tip of Labrador. A heated Orion weather station with visibility sensor will be used to monitor weather conditions in this remote outpost in the Canadian Arctic. Data will be collected with a Weather MicroServer and monitored remotely with WeatherMaster Software from the Prescott Station. Orion Weather Station MicroServer with Visibility Sensor WeatherMaster Software PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... C: wait...

The Solar Decathlon - Europe begins in Madrid this month and the Virginia Tech Solar House is competing using an Orion 420 weather station with Weather MicroServer and WeatherMaster Software to help optimize energy usage. "Lumenhaus" was originally designed and built for the 2009 U.S. Solar Decathlon. At the turn of the New Year, the house was on Times Square in New York for four days exhibit and an appearance on Good Morning America . For more information: Experience "the power of light" at www.lumenhaus.com Orion 420 Weather Station offering 4-20 mA output Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design.

Remember the Superbowl ad that told a love story through Google Search? Well, in honor of Small Business Week, Google offered us the chance to write our own search story. Turn on the audio and click here or on the image to view the result: Weather Here and Now The morale of our story? Professional weather monitoring – right where you need it, right when you need it. (And here is the love story ad in case you've forgotten: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsSUqgkDwU )

While crews in the Gulf of Mexico are working to mitigate the damage caused by the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists aboard the R/V Pelican research vessel are taking samples from the sea floor to analyze for changes in chemicals and marine organisms. ( HoumaToday.com ) The Magellan Weather Station by Columbia Weather Systems provides weather data aboard the R/V Pelican. With its internal compass and rugged metal construction, the Magellan is well-suited to mobile weather monitoring. The R/V Pelican is operated by LUMCON , the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. Formed in 1979, LUMCON provides coastal laboratory facilities to Louisiana universities, and conducts research and educational programs in the marine sciences. (R/V Pelican photo courtesy of LUMCON)

Standard factory setup for the Magellan Weather Station provides wind direction alignment to True North. The internal compass reading is aligned to Magnetic North. At the factory, the declination angle is entered to offset wind direction output to True North based on the "Ship To" address. A new tutorial on our Resources page describes how to easily reset the declination angle. This would need to be done only if the weather station was installed in a significantly different geographic location, or if alignment to Magnetic North was desired. Click here for Magellan Weather Station Tutorial: Aligning Wind Direction to True North .

If your vehicle doesn't have a place for the standard side-mount pole, this new collapsible roof mount mast may be just the ticket. The pole is designed to be permanently mounted on a flat surface (such as a vehicle roof) and folded away into the stored position. Shown at right with the Magellan Weather Station sensor, the collapsible roof mount mast is suitable for any CWS weather station.

Taking advantage of the affordable netbook computers, Weather Master™ Netbook Edition is a new weather monitoring option for use with any CWS weather station. Ideal for applications requiring a dedicated computer or mobile applications where size and weight are an issue. The display screens are optimized for the smaller monitor size. Full featured Weather Master Software with * Real-time sensor monitoring plus calculated parameters * Data logging and reports * Email/text weather reports to multiple recipients * Alarm notification and relay control * CAMEO/ALOHA auto-interface for HazMat * Multi-station monitoring * Auto-update weather data for web page $1199 package price includes netbook computer, Weather Master Software with setup and configuration to your weather station parameters including cables. (Note: Price does NOT include the weather station.) Got your own netbook? Simply specify the Weather Master Software-Only Netbook Edition for $395. Click for

Using a fully-loaded Capricorn 2000 weather station, Dixon Weather Service, Inc. provides weather forecasts, current readings, and warnings to Central Missouri. Administrator Tim Brandt explains, "Our mission is to provide the citizens of the Dixon, MO area a source to obtain the most accurate, real time and potentially life saving weather warnings as issued by the National Weather Service." "Our relationship with CWS has been an excellent experience for us!" Brandt says. "We have received excellent support and services from CWS and we highly recommend CWS." Photo by Colleen Collyer, courtesy of Dixon Weather. Click to find out more on their CWS Applications page: Dixon Weather Service

Thinking about an Orion all-in-one weather station? What about that new Magellan with internal compass? Don't need a compass, but maybe you need three different temperature readings? Are you wondering which CWS weather station is best for your weather monitoring requirements? We've implemented a new comparison chart to help you make an informed decision. From any page on our website, click on the Products tab ( or click to go there directly ). Scroll down a bit to see the chart that compares Orion,™ Magellan™ and Capricorn 2000EX™ Weather Stations: Meteorological sensors, standard and optional Display options Warranty Starting price And, as always, if you have additional questions, please contact us. Toll-free: 1-866-625-8620 (US and Canada) Phone: (503) 629-0887 Email: sales@columbiaweather.com

An innovative building project in the community of Omaha, Nebraska incorporates a green roof on one section of the building. Two Capricorn 2000 EX™ Weather Stations monitor the differences in meteorological parameters for the two different roofs using a customized WeatherMaster Software.™ The facility incorporates an elementary school, a public library and community center. Click for the full story Saddlebrook Joint Facility Photo by Kessler Photography / courtesy BCDM Achitects .

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

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

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

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 degree