Columbia Weather Systems

  As Fall approaches, it brings shifting winds, dropping temperatures, and changing daylight. Wind speed and direction have always been important measurements in our weather stations, helping our customers stay a step ahead as the seasons change.  As the leaves turn and the air cools, we are grateful for another season spent helping people understand the weather around them!  The picture below is "The" Tree at the Portland Japanese Garden, a maple in the Strolling Pond Garden that's become famous among photographers over the years, even earning a National Geographic award and a spot in a Smithsonian exhibition. Keep an eye on the Portland Japanese Garden 's Fall Colors Tracker for updates on when the maples hit peak color! (Photo taken by Nader Khoury, CWS President) #Fall #ColumbiaWeather #WeatherMonitoring

    Join us in welcoming our new Marketing Specialist Dalida Farhat! Dalida is a recent graduate from the University of Oregon, where she majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Her favorite memory at the UO was her consulting internship in Italy! Outside of work, she makes ceramics and is a self-taught snowboarder.

Congratulations to Electra.aero on a successful urban flight demonstration of their hybrid-electric Ultra Short aircraft! We're grateful to be part of their journey with portable weather monitoring that supports safe and efficient flight testing.

  A mobile command center built by LDV for Murrieta Police (CA) includes a Magellan MX500™ Weather Station mounted on the roof. How do mobile command centers benefit from having a weather station? ▶ Improved Situational awareness: High temperatures and wind speeds can pose a risk to crews and affect response efforts ▶ I nformed Decision-making: Command crews can use data to support decisions involving: - Resource deployment - Staging locations - Public safety notifications - Event logistics ▶ Incident Reporting: Accurate data is critical for incident reporting analysis to mitigate future risks Common parameters monitored in real-time include wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. Photos courtesy of LDV Weather Stations for mobile command center vehicles

A Capricorn FLX Weather Station with high-performance wind sensor is tested before shipping. Every weather station is custom-built to order, tested for quality assurance, and carefully packaged by our team before it goes out the door. Dependable weather data starts with dependable equipment.

An Orion weather station was a key component in the City of Fairhope, Alabama's plan to upgrade equipment and improve environmental efforts at their marina. “On-site weather data plays a vital role in our marina operations,” Marina Manager Mark Redditt shared with us. “Weather conditions at the docks can vary significantly from those in surrounding areas, making accurate, real-time, location-specific data essential for informed decision-making related to safety, staffing, and day-to-day operations.” Click here to read the full case study

Nader and Debbie hosted a visit from Greg and Paul of Gill Instruments  at the office last week. We enjoy collaborating in person and learning about upcoming product advancements that will benefit our customers. Gill sensors are integrated into our Magellan MX line , especially mobile and portable weather stations because of their GPS feature.

Columbia River Gorge wildflowers taken by Nader Khoury, CWS President Happy Earth Day! 🌎 Columbia Weather Systems is grateful to have many customers who help preserve Earth's beauty, wildlife, and natural resources through environmental research and sustainability efforts. Customer highlights: Kezar Lake Water Shed Association , FB Environmental Associates , Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

  Why choose Columbia Weather for your weather monitoring needs? Here's what our customers have to say: ✴️ Quality: “...Our trusted go-to multi-parameter weather sensor, thanks to its robust build quality and accurate performance, rain or shine!” –Accelerated Media Technologies ✴️ Reliability: “The ease of use, simple installation, and ruggedized hardware are second to none. Our units have been installed for many years, and we expect them to continue to provide good reliable service for years to come.” –Automation Werx ✴️ Customization: “We required your weather monitoring systems for the resource assessment and performance monitoring of our solar PV power plants... Columbia Weather Systems was able to provide us with a solution tailored to our specific requirements.”  –Ceylex Renewables ✴️ Customer service: “Your company is by far a top notch best in customer service I’ve ever dealt with and your products are of the highest quality.” –Bonneville Power Administration Our job i...

Weather station upgrade College Station Utilities (CSU) provides electric, water, and wastewater services to residents across eastern Texas. Last year, an aging weather station led them to search for an accurate, reliable replacement. “These mechanical devices were getting older,” said SCADA Systems Analyst Robert Lawry, “and we started to lose some faith in the readings we were getting. That’s why we were looking to get an ‘all-in-one’ unit.” Above: An Orion Weather Station mounted on a College Station Utilities substation control building. Tracking on-site substation weather data for informed decisions CSU selected the Orion Weather Station and mounted it on the roof of a substation control building. “On-site weather data is important because we are now using this data in order to purchase power on the market,” Lawry explained. “This data is being used in historical calculations to help us do that. By combining this weather data with historical data, we can accurately predict o...

February happenings! We enjoyed visits from friends at our sister company Hinds Instruments as well as gathering for our annual anniversary dinner at a local favorite, Stanford's . We’re grateful for the people who make Columbia Weather Systems what it is! ☀ Anniversary dinner at Stanford's Tanasbourne. Steak tips were a favorite at the anniversary dinner. David and Connie from Hinds Instruments dropped by for a tour and chat! Nader gives guests a tour of our facilities.

Accurate, On-Site Weather Monitoring for Flight Testing Electra.Aero is an aerospace company pioneering a hybrid-electric aircraft designed to take off and land in short distances. Their vision of "Direct Aviation" is built around the ability to operate aircraft in unconventional and often remote locations without established runways. An Electra aircraft takes off with a Magellan MX500 Portable weather station providing live data to the flight test team. “We’re able to deploy the Magellan MX and have real-time weather data available to the entire flight-test team in under five minutes, which has significantly improved both the safety and efficiency of our operations at Electra . . . Overall, the MX series delivers professional-grade capability with minimal setup, maintenance, or operational effort.” James Maxwell, Flight Test Operations Manager While this expands where operations are possible, it also introduces practical challenges during flight testing, particularly when i...

                        In honor of Black History Month and National Weather Person’s Day, we are highlighting the legacy of Archie Williams, an accomplished meteorologist, Olympic gold medalist, and educator. Born in 1915 in Oakland, California, Williams expressed an early interest in both aviation and athletics. While studying mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, he excelled in track and field, setting a world record and qualifying for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he won a gold medal in the 400-meter race.                       After an injury ended his running career and engineering jobs were denied due to racial discrimination, Williams redirected his focus toward aviation and meteorology. During World War II, he became one of 14 African Americans commissioned through the Army Air Forces aviation meteorological cadet program. Following gr...

For incident commanders and emergency managers alike, localized meteorological data is no longer optional —it is a foundational input to risk management, operational strategy, and first responder safety. Weather monitoring assists in critical operational areas including safety, fire behavior, plume modeling, reporting, and drone operation. Read the updated resource: 5 Ways On-Scene Weather Data Benefits Emergency Response

  Winter conditions bring snow, ice, and freezing precipitation, all of which can interrupt certain sensor measurements. Heated sensors help prevent buildup, assuring continuous operations in cold weather operations. We offer heated sensors for Orion™, Pulsar™, and some Magellan MX™ weather station models. A heated tipping bucket rain gauge is also available. Make sure your equipment is up for the task. Contact us to learn more about our heated sensor options. Visit our website for information about professional weather stations

  The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Vulnerability Disclosure Program published an Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Advisory on January 6 documenting resolved vulnerabilities of the CWS MicroServer. As part of our ongoing commitment to the reliability, accuracy, and security of our products, Columbia Weather Systems engaged a third-party cybersecurity audit in August 2025 to evaluate the security of the MicroServer . In October 2025, this review identified three vulnerabilities, which CWS disclosed to CISA. Our development team acted quickly to address the findings. All identified issues were remediated and incorporated into MicroServer firmware version MS_4.1_14142. A follow-on assessment by the same third-party confirmed that the remediations were successful. We recommend all customers with a MicroServer update to firmware version MS_4.1_14142. Please contact our support team at support@columbiaweather.com or by phone at 503-629-0887.

We’re grateful to help customers around the globe make better, weather-informed decisions every day. Thank you for being part of our 2025!