Columbia Weather Systems

This exciting new video  created by our interns gives a look into our Pulsar Weather Stations. The Pulsar line features durable, electronic sensors, incorporating various meteorological parameters in a compact, all-in-one sensor head. “(This is) the best technology when it comes to data collection for weather,” says Paul Deanno, Meteorologist at KPIX San Francisco . Some parameters are unique to respective models, including lightning detection, solar radiation, and precipitation type. 

Hello, all! We will be implementing a price increase in January. Our quotations are good for 60 days. So, if you are planning to purchase from CWS in the near future, you can extend 2017 pricing by requesting a quotation prior to December 22. Our offices will be closed December 23 through January 1, and reopening Tuesday, January 2, 2018. For system pricing, click the Weather Stations Page and scroll down to the bottom of the  “Compare Weather Station Features ”  Chart.

Did you know that using high-beams while driving in fog is dangerous? Headlights actually reduce visibility, as the light is reflected by the fog itself. As a result, the probability of collision is raised, affecting the safety of drivers, aviators, and mariners. Get tips on how to be prepared in foggy conditions, and learn more about how it is formed by visiting Weather.gov/fog . #WeatherReadyNation #WRNAmbassador #WinterWx #WRN

This new Capricorn FLX™ Weather Station User Guide provides a visual overview of the system with details on available components, monitoring options, installation and operation. For flexible parameter selection and optimal sensor location, the Capricorn FLX™ Weather Station has been utilized in many applications including construction, military aviation, and mass transit. The modular system features proven, reliable mechanical wind sensors, temperature and/or humidity sensor(s) in a self-aspirating radiation shield, and many other meteorological sensor options. VIEW USER GUIDE HERE

Winter weather is upon us! Check out this freezing rain infographic. Be informed, and stay safe. Our recent addition of a Freezing Rain Sensor to be used with the Weather MicroServer is perfect timing for the upcoming season. #WeatherReadyNation #WRNAmbassadors

In HazMat or CBRN incidents, toxic cloud movement can be affected by wind, solar heating and cooling, humidity and precipitation as well as topographical features. Depending on meteorology, the toxic cloud could be several miles long, but only a few blocks wide. Changing wind patterns could cause the plume to shift, or meander in another direction. PEAC® Software from Aristatek provides responders with vital information to make informed decisions such as evacuation at an incident scene. Its features include integrated mapping, an easy-to-use toxic or flammable vapor cloud dispersion model, and a comprehensive database of toxic industrial chemicals, biological agents, explosives, and radioactive isotopes. Utilizing a variety of modeling tools, the PEAC System quickly calculates standoff distances and exclusion zones based on actual met data and conditions. Based on the request of several of our customers, data from CWS weather stations can be integrated automatically to provide on-s...

Following a recent ice storm, Vermont Electric Power Company determined that a better picture of weather conditions was necessary at their key locations. Responding to the customer request, we have added a Freezing Rain Sensor for use with the Weather MicroServer. The sensor uses resonant frequencies to determine the presence of icing conditions. Included is a built-in heater for automatic defrost. The de-icing (heater) control is automatically triggered with accumulation of 0.5mm of ice on probe. Click on Additional Sensors Tab For More Information

When the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project was looking for a weather station to help them compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, they contacted Columbia Weather Systems. A Magellan MX500™ Weather Station was mounted on a support vehicle to provide met data to help optimize power for the solar-powered, cruiser-class car dubbed “Eos II.” Besides speed, cruiser-class vehicles focus on practicality and number of people in the car. Gearing up for the race, electrical technical advisor Spencer Berglund related, “We’ve been test driving a lot for the past few days and have been using your weather station for gathering accurate power to drive data for our car. We will also be using it every day on the race.” The U of M Solar Vehicle Project is a student-administered, designed, and built project that teaches members about engineering and management in a complete product development environment. The diverse design and construction challenges help further the school’...

What’s the weather going to be like this winter in the Pacific Northwest? Saturday was your chance to find out at the free annual event hosted by the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. If you missed it, scroll down for the presentations link and OregonLive’s more “user-friendly” analysis. 25th Annual Winter Weather Forecast Conference presented by the Oregon AMS. Gary Bock, Business Development Manager, represented Columbia Weather Systems. Packed auditorium at OMSI. Standing room only crowd. Click here for the Oregon AMS page with presentation links:  https://oregonams.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/presentations-25th-annual-winter-weather-conference/ Click here for OregonLive report:  http://www.oregonlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2017/10/ready_or_not_experts_take_a_lo.html

Moments before shipping his Orion sensor in for evaluation last week after unusual rain and wind readings, Florida customer Michael Koenig was surprised to see something move in the box. With a closer look, he discovered the source of the problem – a Cuban Tree Frog! “As a testament to your product’s reliability, I can safely say that I continue with my very own kind of Florida durability testing right here in my back yard!” Michael says. Perhaps CWS should consider offering frog spike kits in the future 😉.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. If you have any concerns about whether adding a weather station may cause vulnerability to your network, we have several solutions. # CyberSecurityAwarenessMonth

President Nader Khoury is our Team Member feature this week! Having an interest in science and technology, he studied Electric and Electronics Engineering at Oregon State University. Following 10 years as Manufacturing Manager at Branden Technologies, Nader has led CWS for 20 years. “What I enjoy about my job is discovering the different applications customers have and coming up with creative solutions to improve in order to meet each customer’s needs,” he says. “It’s fun to be able to say ‘yes, we can do that for you.’” Nader also enjoys hiking, gardening, and photography. Nader's photography decorates the office walls.

Planning a trip? This map provided by the NOAA is an interactive, visual tool to help you be prepared. From flash flood and hurricane warnings to Red Flag and air quality alerts, this is an easily accessible resource to keep you informed With the wildfires we have been experiencing here in the Pacific Northwest, air quality updates have been especially important to monitor. Stay tuned for more info on our new air quality sensor launching soon. # NationalPreparednessMonth # WeatherReadyNation # WRNAmbassadors x

Stocking up on our emergency water supply for National Preparedness Month! It is recommended to have 14 gallons of water per person in Oregon in the case of an earthquake. Make sure to store your supply in a cool, dark place and replace it every six months. Tip: Water jugs are multi-functional and make for some nice bookends or work out equipment. 😉 #WRNAmbassadors

Tomorrow is National Prepareathon Day. As Weather Ready Nation Ambassadors, we encourage organizations, families, and communities to make a Disaster Emergency Plan. The recent natural disasters are a reminder of the importance of preparing for emergencies beforehand. Click Here to learn how to create a plan, and view other resources to help be better prepared for the future. “Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can.”

This week's Team Member spotlight is Debbie! This month marks her 20th year at CWS. As Office Manager, Debbie wears a lot of hats and always keeps the office running smoothly. In her spare time, she enjoys visiting the Oregon coast and spending time with her grand kids. Fun fact: She recently won “Best Actress” at a Murder Mystery Dinner. What does she like about her job? “The variety!” Debbie says. “The contact with many and varied customers, and the relationships with co-workers. . . I love my CWS family. They are the best part of my job.”

Keys Energy Services, a public power utility in Florida, is using our new cloud-based server in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. The company is using the cloud Weather Server to monitor weather conditions remotely to make key operational decisions. The company has four Orion™ Weather Stations , whose real-time data can be easily accessed. On a day to day basis, Keys Energy monitors wind speed to determine if workers can safely operate machinery. Our new cloud Weather Server features real-time weather data monitoring that is easily accessible on the Internet. Users can view the display screen remotely from any device using a web browser. Multiple weather stations can be networked, with the display including an overview option to view key data points from weather stations simultaneously. The cloud Weather Server comes standard with the Weather MicroServer , a CWS proprietary monitoring option available with any of our weather stations. The MicroServer automatically up...

Last week we received a call from Air Liquide, an industrial gas production company, for help connecting their Orio­n Weather Station™ to Weather Underground® in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey. All CWS weather stations can feed data automatically from WeatherMaster ™ software or the Weather MicroServer ™ to Weather Underground, where the information is readily available online. Click Here for instructions on how to connect your CWS weather station to Weather Underground. Graph of Air Liquide’s data from Weather Underground for Sunday, August 27. Note significantly high winds between 3:30 and 10:00 p.m. (gusts up to 42 mph) with lowered air pressure.

It’s Team Member Thursday, and we’re putting the spotlight on Vincent, Technical Support Specialist. Vincent’s work day includes testing hardware and software, repairs, and assisting customers. He was also key in developing the Magellan MX™, the latest CWS weather station model. “What I enjoy about this job is the problem-solving aspect of it,” he says. We recently received a letter of thanks from Douglas Omaha (Nebraska) Technology Commission: “Vincent was instrumental in assisting my analysts... From the project’s inception, through analysis and design … Vincent has been patient with our questions, guiding us to the correct answer. … He made a large part of the pieces fit together,” says Thomas Olson, Application Services Manager. We think he’s pretty great, too!

Today we have the spotlight on Martha, who leads marketing for CWS. “As a co-owner, I have a strong sense of responsibility for the integrity of our products and message,” she says. Martha has been with company since its beginning, experiencing firsthand “…the growth of the weather station product line. From a small part of a larger company started by my father, to its own successful company on a growth trajectory for 20 years now.” Martha considers herself an “afternoon tea aficionado” and enjoys the flexibility of an independent contractor to balance the needs of her family: “It’s doable because of the wonderful and experienced team we have,” she says.

Temperatures are forecast to reach record highs in the Portland area today. Reaching a high of 107° for the first time since 1981. Stay hydrated, stay cool, stay safe.  Click here to learn more about Summer Weather Safety

Kathy recently visited the Continental Tires Uvalde Proving Grounds in Texas. Uvalde consists of 8.5 miles of track that represent almost every type of road terrain and condition. They push cars and tires to their limits. Customized Capricorn FLX™ weather stations record track temperature and location specific weather conditions—data that their engineers use to develop safer, better tires. It was a pleasure seeing them do such intense and highly precise work. Steven Gutierrez, Objective Engineer for Continental Tire, and the Capricorn FLX weather station.   Click for more information about the Capricorn FLX weather station Click for more information about the Continental Tire Uvalde Proving Ground

Check out the new case studies now up on the website!  Data Centers Case Study Hazardous Waste Case Study

Our team is growing! This Team Member Spotlight, meet Gary, who joined us as our Business Development Manager this month. Gary has a background in environmental science, project management, and business development. He looks forward to connecting with new prospects and opening new markets and opportunities for CWS. “Great customer service is key to building new business,” he says.

Stay safe as temperatures continue to rise this summer!

We celebrated 20 years of being an official entity this week with a pizza party! Congratulations! We look forward to seeing what the future will bring.

It’s Team Member Thursday! Today, we spotlight Assembly Technician Julius, who has been with us for five years. His job includes soldering cables, assembling sensors, and building portable weather stations.  “Continual testing of components is an important part of the process,” Julius says. “We always strive for quality assembly of our products – every step of the way.” 

Today, we’d like to introduce Evan! He is a Marketing major at Portland State University, and the newest addition and intern to our marketing department. Evan has had experience in past summers fighting wildland fires, and understands the “importance of having accurate and dependable weather equipment.” He also enjoys videography and works on student film and media projects for PSU. Welcome to the team, Evan!

WeatherMaster™ Software from Columbia Weather Systems now feeds data directly to Weather Underground® for meteorological data viewing from any Internet-enabled device. WeatherMaster is a PC-compatible software which can be used with any CWS weather station model. (Previously uploading to Weather Underground required a Weather MicroServer™.) CWS weather stations earn the Goldstar rating from Weather Underground as a “high-quality station.” Weather Underground is an excellent way for companies to make their weather data viewable to a broad audience including workforce and the public. It offers a graphically pleasing, real-time monitoring screen with weather station data, some historical data and graphs. It also adds radar where available and the option to embed widgets. Besides the Internet network site, Weather Underground offers apps for iPhones and Android phones, as well as the WunderStation App for iPad® devices. This makes monitoring weather stations easy across devices...

Meet Jeff, who has been with CWS for 10 years as our Production Manager. “What I enjoy most about this job is designing new things,” Jeff says. Innovative product design is a key aspect of his job, as approximately 15 percent of orders require custom solutions. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys hiking and gardening.

Lightning detection is now available with the Pulsar 800 Weather Station . “The added lightning detection feature helps customers who are concerned with public safety in their planning of a wide range of outdoor activities,” CWS President Nader Khoury explains. “This ranges from sporting events, to public concerts and outdoor military training”. The sensor analyzes radio wave emission of the lightning and delivers a count of recognized strikes within a 10 km (6.2 mile) radius. It is designed for professional meteorological applications and provides reliable data, even in extreme conditions. In addition to lightning detection, the Pulsar 800 includes Doppler radar precipitation, ultrasonic wind speed and direction, temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, solar radiation, and an electronic compass. Combined, these features make the ­Pulsar 800 “an all-in-one source for making informed decisions regarding public safety.” Nader says. 

We don't normally encourage “home users", but this guy is a serious weather buff and willing to spend the big bucks to invest in a professional weather station! A lifelong passion to experience, enjoy and measure the weather Michael Koenig began building his own weather instruments in early grade school. Growing up in a family of farmers in the Midwest, where being keen on weather was critical to their livelihood, Michael says that his interest in weather was “already in (his) DNA!” Michael went on to work at several TV stations as a broadcast engineer, eventually becoming an electronics technician for 41 years. “I hung out a lot around the weather radar and weather station equipment,” he says. Recently retiring to southwest Florida, a region known for it's stormy weather, Michael reached out to CWS to acquire a high-performance station, eventually selecting an Orion Weather Station. Easy Installation The organized packaging, labeled components, and convenie...

We are happy to welcome two of our summer interns. Bethany Villero just graduated from George Fox University with a degree in Business Management. She will be assisting in our marketing department. Besides a “fascination for storms and cloud formations,” Bethany has run her own portrait photography business for six years. Software intern, Alex Pulido, is working on our proprietary Cloud Server and other monitoring products. This internship will complete Alex’s Web Development degree from Portland Community College. Another marketing intern will be joining us in June from Portland State University. Welcome aboard!

CWS president Nader Khoury gave a presentation on weather monitoring to the local chapter of the American Water Works Association hosted at the North Clackamas County Water Commission. With the rise of data-driven decision-making and inter-agency collaboration, weather monitoring is becoming increasingly important across government agencies. The Internet of Things movement is a big drive toward Smart Everything – Smart Phones, Smart Cities, Smart Governments. With the integration/interoperability of city-wide agency systems, “Smart Water” plays a significant role and weather monitoring can be a part of it: • Monitoring for drought/flooding • Stormwater management • Data points and more Weather stations can be a tool to provide information for analysis, to make data available to other agencies, and to the public. Show and tell with the Weather MicroServer.

A mobile broadcast communication truck and “rolling weather station” provides 13WHAM television station in Rochester, NY a unique tool to accomplish their goals: • Track Western NY Weather • Educate students in meteorology • Maintain competitive advantage Click a link below to read more. MOBILE WEATHER AUTHORITY CASE STUDY PDF MOBILE WEATHER AUTHORITY APPLICATION PAGE The Chevy SUV features the Magellan MX500™ Weather Station and Weather Master™ Software.