Columbia Weather Systems

 Today is the Winter Solstice, marking the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere. What's the weather like in your part of the world?

Looking for the perfect gift for the meteorologist and weather lover in your life? You've come to the right place. We've put together this guide to make shopping a breeze! Take a look: 1.  Meteorology Patent Art Posters With eye-catching patent drawings of an anemometer, barometer, and weather balloon, this set of meteorology posters will look great on any weather lover’s wall! 2. Glass Storm Cloud   This "glass cloud" contains special liquid that crystalizes different patterns as the air pressure changes - a unique addition to any desk! 3. Thunderstorm Face Mask This lightning bolt/thundercloud face mask is the perfect face covering for meteorologists, rainy day lovers, and thunderstorm fans. 4.  PlaySTEAM Space Weather Station Introduce kids ages 8 and up to the water cycle with this all-in-one weather kit featuring a base to grow plants, thermometer, anemometer, and rain gauge. 5. Educational Weather Flashcards Teach your k...

T he Pulsar 400 Weather Station measures precipitation accumulation, type, and intensity with a high-resolution Doppler radar rain gauge, as well as temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. This sensor suite was recently added to our Pulsar line-up . It was integrated for a company whose satellite communication equipment is negatively impacted by rainfall and requires accurate weather data for large-scale operations. Pulsar weather stations offer the ease of an all-in-one sensor, available in various parameter configurations with ventilated radiation protection. Want to know more? Give us a call 503-629-0887 to find out how professional weather stations from Columbia Weather can benefit your company. Or visit our website at ColumbiaWeather.com

Blackfoot tribe encampment. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. “ The sky is covered with high piled clouds; the earth is covered with misty fog; the earth is covered with great rains…and the thunder drums are being heard in all the directions of the earth…” — Apache Prayer-Song *   This Native American Heritage Month, we recognize indigenous people who hold a high respect and understanding of nature. Early Native Americans were attuned to recognizing animal behavior and skilled at observing clouds to predict good weather or impending storms. For example, “When the clouds rise in terraces of white, soon will the country of the corn priests be pierced with the arrows of rain.”* At Columbia Weather, we were grateful to work with the Shoalwater Bay Tribe of Washington State for their Air Quality Monitoring System .

H appy Thanksgiving! 🍂 We are thankful for you — our customers, family, and friends! Please note that our office will be closed November 26-27. For product updates, applications, and summer highlights, check out our latest newsletter by clicking here .

T he latest version of our Cloud-based Weather Server includes changes “under the hood” to enable us to customize the dashboards, for example, adding custom parameters or customer logos such as the Keys Energy custom overview screen with logo, background, and work-decision parameters. A new Auxiliary screen displays additional parameters. On the Main screen, the wind dial has been updated to include wind direction standard deviation and vector. To make full use of all these new features, customers can upgrade their MicroServer firmware. Check out the CWS Weather Server here . Contact us for more information: sales@columbiaweather.com or call 503-629-0887 On the Main screen, the wind dial has been updated to include wind direction standard deviation and vector.

T his National First Responder's Day, we recognize the men and women who serve our communities and help make them a safer place to live. Thank you! CWS is proud to equip first responders with professional weather monitoring equipment across the United States and beyond. Built by LDV, this Incident Command Center for Avondale AZ Police Department Police/Fire & Medical is outfitted with a Magellan MX500™ Weather Station with Weather Display console from CWS for monitoring on-site met data. Environmental awareness is critical to the safety of public and crew. Click here for a virtual tour  of the Avondale Police/Fire & Medical Incident Command Center Weather Display  installed on the vehicle interior shows weather data from the Magellan MX500 Weather Station.

💧 October 21st is Imagine a Day Without Water,* which raises awareness about the importance of an essential resource often taken for granted. This national educational campaign “brings together diverse stakeholders to highlight how water is essential, invaluable, and in need of investment” according to their website. This photo (courtesy of Central Utah Water Conservancy District) shows an Orion™ Weather Station with a solar radiation sensor at Utah’s Jordanelle Reservoir.** CUWCD manages a network of water facilities with the goal of providing clean, useable water to customers in Central Utah. *For more information about the Imagine a Day Without Water campaign, visit  imagineadaywithoutwater.org . **For more information about how CUWCD utilizes their weather monitoring equipment,  click here .

Wet Bulb Globe Temperature System Columbia Weather System's Heat Stress System was developed for the US Coast Guard in Florida to help keep workers safe in extreme heat and humid environments. A key component in this project was the stand-alone Weather Display Console, as the customer did not want to interface the met sensors to an IT network for security reasons. WBGT System Components The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature System from CWS lists for about US$4,000 and includes: Capricorn FLX Control Module Black Globe Temp Sensor - hollow copper sphere with a matte black finish with temperature probe Ambient Temp Sensor Relative Humidity Sensor Self-Aspirating Radiation Shield for Ambient Temp and RH sensors Weather Display Console – Custom screen displays WBGT, Wet Bulb Temp, Ambient Temp, Globe Temp, and BP (Additional features include Trend, Min/Max, Alarm) Sensors include 50-feet of cable each Additional sensors such as wind and solar radiation are available for custom configuratio...

Air quality indexes reached hazardous levels during recent West Coast wildfires. L ast month’s devastating wildfires along the West Coast have brought the effects of air quality to the forefront of conversation. With particulate matter from wildfire smoke reaching "hazardous" levels throughout California and the Pacific Northwest, supervisors have been relying on accurate, localized data for critical decision making.  Outdoor Air Quality Monitoring systems from Columbia Weather provide accurate, on-site data for analysis, compliance, and safety. The Orion AQM measures common gaseous pollutants along with temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. The Orion AQM Plus includes particulate measurement with PM 2.5 and PM 10 sensors. In addition to public safety, measuring air quality is useful for industrial emission monitoring, building automation, and air quality research applications. If air quality is essential to your business operations, give us a call or visit our webs...

October 2, 2020 is Manufacturing Day, a day to highlight the importance of the industry that provides millions of jobs in the U.S. and to inspire the next generation of creators. For over 40 years, Columbia Weather has manufactured and shipped high quality custom weather monitoring equipment to professionals in public safety, military, and government industries all over the globe. In this pre-pandemic photo, Jeff explains our manufacturing process to University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project students visiting our facility.  Click here to learn more .

  T he first day of fall is September 22! Ever wonder how weather conditions affect autumn colors? As days get shorter and trees are exposed to less sunlight, the chlorophyll pigment that produces the dominating green color begins to fade, revealing the other colors beneath. According to the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), a succession of warm and rainy days means less intense hues, while warm days paired with cooler evenings without frost produce the most brilliant fall colors.  Photo credit: CWS President Nader Khoury

Air Quality map from Air Now   T hanks to the many firefighters and responders who are currently facing challenging environmental conditions (low humidity, high temps and winds) while battling dozens of wildfires all across the West Coast. This map from Air Now shows current Air Quality indexes in the Pacific Northwest. Use this link to check conditions in your location . If you live in an affected area, make sure to pay attention to local alerts – stay safe!

F or Emergency Preparedness Month, we are sharing this mobile emergency operations center built by LDV for the Calcasieu, Louisiana Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP) complete with a Magellan MX500 ™ Weather Station, WeatherMaster ™ Software and display. Located in southern Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish is an area vulnerable during the hurricane season. The mobile center arrived just in time for Hurricane Laura. Magellan MX Weather Stations offer GPS and compass readings, an ideal choice for vehicle and mobile applications requiring real-time met data on the go. Contact us for information on the best weather station for your operations, or visit our website here . For a virtual walk-through of Calcasieu Parish’s mobile emergency operations center (catch a glimpse of the weather display at 1:37), watch this video . A Magellan MX500 Weather Station is mounted on the roof of the  mobile emergency operations center. This screenshot by the NOAA s...

“ H aving the best up-to-date information on when to shelter in place from hurricanes” was the goal for Tidelands Health to purchase Orion weather stations for two hospitals in South Carolina. Patrick J. Devlin is Director of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness for Tidelands. An early adopter of the CWS Cloud Weather Server, Devlin describes how he shares meteorological data regularly with staff and first responders and that it helps with real-time decision making: “This is the link I drive our organization and partners to due to the security of it not having to access our secure network.” Recently put to the test with Hurricane Isaias, Devlin commented, “We were able to monitor the storm through the cloud server. I was monitoring things from home and had no issues. I also know the weather stations were pulled up in the county emergency operations center and 911 center. It has been a great tool for us to share with our local emergency responders.” Thanks for the update! The CW...

The Albany-Millersburg Water Reclamation Facility in OR installed an Orion 420™ Weather Station to monitor on-site conditions. “It is important to note that geography and weather conditions are significant factors in how odor emanates at wastewater facilities. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation are elements to consider when determining the appropriate odor control delivery method,” says Dr. Laura Haupert in the article “Important Considerations for Odor Control in Wastewater” in the July issue of Water & Wastes Digest.  “For example, presume a facility is located in a hot and humid area (such as Florida). Odor issues will likely be significantly greater than a wastewater treatment facility in Washington state. Hot and humid weather creates the optimal environment for a facility to produce hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and mercaptans odors. To make matters worse, volatile organic compounds in your facility start coming off, creating even more odor.” Read the entire articl...

“It came in real handy for Hurricane Hanna,” said Danny Ramirez, Director of Communications and Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator for the  City of Pharr , Texas. Danny sent us a message with the attached photo showing wind speed of 91.9 mph displayed on their new WeatherMaster֭™ Software. Hanna was the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season, making landfall in southern Texas late on July 25, just about a week after the City of Parr received their Magellan M X600™ weather station from CWS. The weather monitoring system was purchased with an emergency preparedness grant through Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council. The image shows WeatherMaster’s Daily Statistics Screen which displays statistical data for a user-selected date. It reports minimum, average, and maximum values for key parameters including temperature, humidity, wind, and barometric pressure.  WeatherMaster displays Maximum Wind Speed at 91.9 mph during Hurricane Hanna .

This Day in History: On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law, establishing NASA as a civilian agency. Columbia Weather is proud to play a small role in space research and exploration efforts, supplying high quality weather monitoring equipment to NASA facilities across the U.S for over 17 years. Space shuttle Atlantis is seen at a 2011 launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. (NASA/Bill Ingalls) 🚀 Learn more about NASA's history here

“Our city is really built on oil and gas and agriculture, so we have a large presence of oil and gas development with a lot of hazardous materials in our community.” In the video*, Fire Chief Fred Burrows explains the requirement for the Hazmat Command Truck for the City of Fort St. John, British Columbia.  The specs include an Orion™ Weather Station with WeatherMaster™ Software. Located along the Alaska Hwy, the city of 25,000 has a fire protection area of 16 square miles, with highway rescue 200 km west and north. The Hazmat vehicle was built by SVI Trucks of Fort Collins, Colorado, featuring a dual slide-out command center equipped with the advanced technology, custom storage, and equipment to keep incident responders working in potential subzero temperatures. The Orion all-in-one meteorological sensor module is custom-mounted and stored in an enclosure on the roof. Interface to weather station is available with interconnected interior, exterior, and cab workstations providing u...

WHAS11 News Meteorologists pose in front of the Weather Beast. A bout a year ago, WHAS11 of Louisville, Kentucky, debuted the Weather Beast, a Dodge Ram specially outfitted for storm chasing and broadcast including a Magellan MX600™ Weather Station with Weather Display™ console and WeatherMaster™ Software. “While chasing storms and tornadoes with a vehicle like the Beast can be a thrill, the main goal is to match up what we see on the radar with live video of what’s happening from the ground.  We often call this ‘ground truth.’  This ability increases accuracy and immediately shows us and viewers at home how severe the weather actually is,” said  WHAS Chief Meteorologist Ben Pine in an announcement . “Yes, the Beast looks super cool, but more importantly, it is an amazing tool for the WHAS11 First Alert StormTeam."   The Magellan MX600 Weather Station includes ultrasonic wind speed and direction measurement, temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, and rainfal...

Orion Weather Stations are utilized by Bear Valley Electric for wildfire mitigation.  A s a critical part of their Wildfire Mitigation Plan, Bear Valley Electric Service (BVES) in California installed 20 Orion™ Weather Stations throughout their system. At 6800-ft elevation, with heavy forests and steep terrain, the area is considered high fire risk. With fire season growing more extreme statewide, the utility has put a new wildfire mitigation plan in place. Including vegetation management and equipment upgrades, operational improvements involve managing circuit controllers during fault conditions when re-energizing might be dangerous, as well as proactive shutoff (de-energization) during extremely high-risk weather conditions. Real-time meteorological data at the various locations can be monitored via a phone app, offering “instant data that experts can analyze when time is short.” Eric Cardella, Engineering Supervisor, says, “In terms of fire safety, that’s important so that...

“Every year there are about 20 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes in the United States,” according to John Jensenius, Lightning Safety Specialist with the National Lightning Safety Council. “Each one of those flashes is a potential killer.” Columbia Weather shares the NLSC goal of reducing the number of people killed and injured by lightning. Our Pulsar 800 Weather Station with lightning detection is popular in operations and facilities management for utilities like West Chicago Waste Water Treatment Plant, energy companies like Lionrock Energy, chemical companies like Formosa Plastics, and mass transportation such as Bay Area Rapid Transit. →  Click here if video does not display . →  Click here for more info on Pulsar Weather Stations .

Interesting visual from the National Weather Service (NWS) showing how environmental and geographical factors affect the spread of wildfires. “Wind speed has a huge effect on fire intensity and how fast fires travel. Wind pushes the flame forward and closer to the unburned fuel in front of the fire. Temperature, humidity, and precipitation are also important due to their strong influence on fuel moisture content.” Environmental and geographic conditions affect the speed of wildfires.

"The CWS mobile app is very handy for our engineers who monitor conditions at our outdoor testing facility.” -Jacob Smith, Nelson Irrigation Corporation The new, user-friendly CWS Weather Monitor App gives customers easy access to remote, real-time weather data monitored on a phone or tablet. The app is compatible with all CWS weather stations that include the Weather MicroServer. Click here to learn more . ( If video does not display, click here .)

Even though it’s not “Bring Your Daughter to Work day,” Ellie has been coming to work with her dad one day a week while he balances working from home with “essential” technical responsibilities. When the office manager heard that Ellie’s birthday was coming up, and she wouldn’t get to have a party, a plan was afoot. Our small company was able to social distance, spreading out at several tables in our spacious manufacturing area. We celebrated with no-contact delivered lunch, an ice-cream cake, and décor complete with Ellie’s favorite -- kitties. If video does not display, click here .

We are saddened to hear of George Miller’s passing last week. A meteorologist, author, speaker, and former Oregon AMS President, he leaves behind a legacy of weather and climate research and education that continued many years after retirement. George was a friend to Columbia Weather Systems and an early contributor to our newsletter . Our condolences to his family and the local AMS community. Click here for the AMS announcement .

Weather Monitor App for easily accessible met data. Columbia Weather Systems is pleased to announce the new CWS Weather Monitor App. This real-time app is compatible with all CWS weather stations that include the Weather MicroServer. The Beta Version is now available free of charge on the App Store for Apple and Android devices   – search for Columbia Weather Systems. This app makes it easier to quickly check current conditions from a hand-held mobile device for decision-making in the field. Data is formatted to be easily read in industrial or chaotic environments such as incident response, even on a small phone screen.  CWS Weather Monitor App can gather real-time weather data from multiple weather stations associated with the user account and includes three real-time monitoring screens which display standard meteorological parameters (depending on sensors available).  The app requires access to a Cloud Weather Server account, which is free to any customer wi...

To the men and women in the firefighting industry — thank you for what you on a daily basis do to keep our communities and environments as safe as possible. CWS is proud to provide critical weather monitoring equipment for emergency management and incident response entities across the country.

We have two holidays to celebrate today: Happy Administrative Professionals Day to Debbie Taylor, who has been with CWS for over 20 years and always keeps the office running smoothly! She is currently working from home, but snuck into the office after hours to get some work done: Happy Earth Day! This photo of beautiful Grand Teton National Park, Idaho was taken by CWS President Nader Khoury. Photo by Nader Khoury

Today is Haiku Day, a time to celebrate the Japanese short form poetry typically constructed of three lines of five, seven, and five syllables, respectively. We asked some kids to share their weather haikus. Take a look: “Wolf Wind” Wind blows fast and fast! It howls like an angry wolf. The wind stings me now! — Julianne, age 7 Defining cloud shapes A sunny rainy rainbow Wish for thunderstorms — Ellie, age 8 “Bird Spikes” Robin wants to rest On these funny sticks? OK! Ouch! Away I go! — Lucia, age 10 “Comfort for a Rainy Day” My mother bakes pies She cooks them to perfection My mom likes to cook  —Isaac, 12 Four distinct seasons Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter We enjoy it all — Ella, age 15 Lots of lots of snow The dark winter comes to life Every snowflake’s different  — Carly, age 15 Now it’s your turn! Write your own weather haiku and post it in the comments for a chance to win a Columbia Weather ...