Columbia Weather Systems

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