Columbia Weather Systems

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”  — Rabindranath Tagore Happy Cloud Day! Did you know that there are over one hundred kinds of clouds? Observing the shape, size, altitude, and color of these suspended water droplets and ice crystals in the atmosphere over time can help predict coming weather! Want to learn more? Here are some great articles: National Weather Service's "Introduction to Clouds" “15 Billowing Facts About Clouds” by weather journalist Dennis Mersereau It's also National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! 🍪 We're enjoying these delicious cookies at the office today from Slow Rise Bakehouse in Forest Grove, OR. #NationalChocolateChipCookieDay   #SupportLocal   #SupportSmallBusinesses

Dr. Michelle Hawkins I t is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a day that celebrates all women and girls who participate in research and innovation in the STEM sciences. Today our spotlight is on Dr. Michelle Hawkins, Chief of Severe, Fire, Public, and Winter Weather Services branch at the National Weather Service (NWS). Dr. Hawkins has had a fascination with science from a young age, often mesmerized by the severe winter storms she witnessed while growing up in Chicago, IL. Participating in any science-related activity she could while in grade school, she went on to major in Chemistry in college and earned a PhD in atmospheric sciences from her alma mater, Howard University.   In her current position at the NWS, Dr. Hawkins oversees her branch and partners with federal public safety services, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and wildland fire support to help minimize health impacts of severe weather-related events. In addition, she regularly...

Dr. Charles E. Anderson W e are celebrating the start of Black History Month by highlighting the achievements of Charles E. Anderson, the first African American to earn a PhD in Meteorology.   After graduating from Lincoln University with a degree in Chemistry, Charles career began when he was assigned to the Tuskegee Army Airfield weather detachment in 1943. “My background in math and chemistry seemed to be exactly the kind of background that they were looking for in meteorologists, so I applied,” he said in a 1992 interview for the American Meteorological Society Oral History Project. As a squadron Weather Officer in the Army, Charles trained fighter pilots across the U.S. before retiring from duty in 1948. In 1960, he received a PhD in Meteorology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and became Professor of Space Science and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It was the beginning of a long career in science education and research. Charles is also...

Happy New Year! Our team is back and hitting the ground running to kick off 2021. Get in touch with us for customer support or to find out what professional weather monitoring equipment will best suit your needs. Thanks for your business! (L-R, Clockwise) Cris, Vincent and Alex at the start of a new year at CWS!

 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...

“ 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...

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

Customization is key ... every system we build is custom-engineered, from the sensor integration to packaging. This Magellan MX™500 sensor module is destined for a Portable Weather Station system. In this video, Alex is trimming the liner for the transportation case with his ingenious hot-wire foam cutter. The foam insert keeps the sensitive electronics, including the meteorological sensor module, and other components from shifting during a potentially rugged deployment. ➡️ Click here for more information about Magellan MX Weather Stations .

We had some special visitors in the office! These second and fourth graders are studying weather in school and stopped by to learn how our meteorological instruments are built and used to monitor the weather. 🌦 Nader explains the bird spikes. A quick look at the sensors mounted on the roof of our office. The girls shared a photo of their homemade anemometer. Nice work! Thanks for stopping by!

Get a head start on holiday gifts for the weather enthusiast in your life! Here are some ideas: 1. A Cloud A Day - Gavin Pretor Pinney  Cloud spotter and bestselling author Gavin Pretor-Pinney delivers a moment of calm atmospheric contemplation in this new book featuring stunning cloud images, facts, and inspirational quotes.  Order it here . 2. Interactive Wood "Weather Station" by Odin Parker With moveable temperature, wind, and humidity dials and sliders, this interactive “weather station” toy is perfect for budding meteorologists. It is made of beech wood from sustainable forests and non-toxic paint. Order it here . 3. American Meteorological Society 2020 Weather History Calendar 2020 is just around the corner, and the AMS Centennial Weather History Calendar is now available! Each month features a beautiful photo and details fascinating facts, dates, and records from 100 years of weather, water, and climate history. Order it here .

With the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month this week, we are highlighting NOAA Meteorologist Isha Renta. Born in Puerto Rico, Isha became fascinated with meteorology at the age of eight, when Category 5 Hurricane Hugo caused widespread damage to the island. "I remember asking myself, at such a young age, what I could do to help my people and reduce the damage," Renta told a NSWC reporter. Isha went on to graduate with a Master’s Degree in Atmospheric Science from Howard University, and currently works for NOAA in the Washington, D.C. metro area. “I really enjoy supporting people outside of the office with information by briefing the public, emergency managers, decision makers, other government offices, and the media about the weather and how it is going to impact them,” Isha says in her weather.gov profile. “That is when I see how valuable our job is and that many people depend on and trust our work.” In 2014, Isha founded Semilla Cultural , a non-profit organiz...

With a nod to the seasonal transition from Winter to Spring, Mark Nelsen, Chief Meteorologist at KPTV, presented his Winter Weather Recap at the Oregon AMS meeting last night. Mark summed up the first few months with his comment: “We’re used to being let down here if you like big winter weather.” And then we experienced one of the coldest Februarys on record with multiple snow events. From the initial forecasted snow non-event that was over-hyped by the media and led to outages of kale in Portland-area grocery stores, Mark offered a lesson for forecasters and media: “In today’s social media world, we must be very careful with weather information.” Shout-out to Kyle Dittmer of Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission who nailed the forecast for number of snow events at the Annual Winter Weather conference last October! View Mark’s presentation here.

Cloud Base has been added to the suite of available measurements with the CWS monitoring options including WeatherMaster Software™ , the Weather MicroServer™ , and coming soon to the Weather Display Console . This feature was requested by our long-time customer CW Price, a supplier to the aviation industry based in South Africa. An important meteorological variable for aviation safety, cloud base can help determine whether pilots may use visual flight rules or instrument flight rules for take-off and landing. The height of the cloud base can be measured using a ceilometer, a pretty expensive piece of equipment. Alternatively, The US Federal Aviation Administration, and other agencies, suggest a calculated measurement to estimate the cloud base from surface measurements of air temperature and humidity by calculating the lifted condensation level. The calculated parameter of cloud base is available with any CWS weather station that measures air temperature and relative humidity. ...

This new video (about 3 minutes) gives an overview of CWS’s proprietary weather monitoring software with WeatherMaster 5.0™ PC software offering:  Real-time met sensor monitoring including calculated parameters Data logging, trend graphs, and reports Multi-station monitoring Alarm notification Automatic CAMEO/ALOHA interface for hazardous chemical plume modeling  Automatic interface to Weather Underground Click here for more information on WeatherMaster 5.0

Many are familiar with the famed Tuskegee Airmen pilots of World War II (initiated into the U.S. Armed Forces on Feb. 19, 1942) –but what about the meteorologists who provided vital weather information for their missions? Watch this clip from The Weather Channel to learn about the “Tuskegee Weather Detachment.”  🛩 # BlackHistoryMonth  

Recent feedback from an industrial customer: “So far the Orion 420 is a big hit. Operators are using the barometric pressure, wind direction, and temp to predict when the big deer bucks will be moving. The analog interface to our controls system worked out very well. You guys did a good job putting it all together for an easy ‘top of the buildings’ install.”   —Engineering Consultant, Kinston, NC Inset: Screen shot of MicroServer Realtime Display For more information: Orion 420™ Weather Station

The roof was blown off a building in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, Canada, as high winds battered the area on November 29. The incident was brought to our attention by our customer Marine Atlantic. They contacted us with the data log file to help verify the wind speed at the time of the incident. The company operates the ferry service to Nova Scotia, and has an Orion Weather Station situated on an island not far from the building. The graph below shows a peak of 88.3 mph fo r the 10-minute average gust at about 8:30. According to local news reports, hurricane-strength winds caused widespread power outages and property damage to the region.  “Weather stations are working great and very pleased with the equipment,” they concluded. The company has multiple Orion Weather Stations with MicroServer, Weather Display console and WeatherMaster Software.  Roof Blown Off During Storm in Newfoundland Video

Pulsar 600 Weather Station mounted on Mobile Weather Vehicle of WCSH6 in Maine. "The best technology when it comes to data collection for weather" according to a popular broadcast meteorologist. Our top-of-the-line Pulsar™ weather station model offers all-in-one sensor module with several parameter configurations to choose from. Advanced features include Doppler radar for precipitation measurement with type and intensity, ultrasonic wind measurement with 0-75 meters per second range, and electronic compass for auto-alignment of wind direction. The Pulsar line is popular for television station mobile weather labs and other applications requiring high accuracy such as Siemens, AT&T, and Raytheon. For more details, visit our website.

The event was held at OMSI in Portland Last weekend Nader and Gary represented CWS at the 26th Annual Winter Weather Forecast Conference hosted by the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society . Gary talks to attendees at the CWS booth. Over 300 weather enthusiasts gathered at OMSI to hear local experts. Here’s a recap: Mark Nelsen from KPTV and KPDX TV reviewed last winter’s weather, celebrating correct predictions and needling the incorrect ones. Jim Todd of OMSI filled us in on astronomical events of the last year, including launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Tyree Wilde from NOAA, Rod Hill from KGW-TV and Kyle Dittmer from the Columbia River Inter Tribal Fish Commission predicted warmer temperatures, with estimates of snowpack and the number of snow events in Portland varied. CWS is proud to participate with our local chapter of the AMS. We enjoy the monthly meetings, and the Winter Weather Conference is the highlight of the year! In case you missed ...