Columbia Weather Systems

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...

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...

Pegasus FLX Portable Weather Station Environmental engineering company Conestoga-Rovers & Associates chose a Pegasus FLX Portable Weather Station from Columbia Weather when looking for a professional-grade, easily deployable weather station. “The system has performed flawlessly,” a CRA representative said. “It’s easy to set up, easy to use, and easy to get data from. I’m very pleased.” Features include: Popular mechanical high resolution wind direction and speed sensors with 160 mph range  Sealed battery system with charger and spare battery for continuous monitoring Rugged transportation case for instruments Tripod with transportation bag Automatic interface with Cameo/Aloha Software for plume modeling The Pegasus FLX offers a flexible, modular weather monitoring solution for portable operations such as environmental research. Standard sensors include temperature, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure and humidity. Optional solar radiation, rai...

When Modesto Dairy Solutions was looking for an accurate, durable weather monitoring solution to optimize production and manage milking operations, they chose Columbia Weather Systems. “We use Temperature, Humidity, Wind Speed, Wind Direction and Wet Bulb for our cooling control. We also trend and record other weather data for the customer to see,” automation engineer Bill DeWitt says. Modesto Dairy’s custom, proprietary technology incorporates CWS weather stations and temperature/humidity sensors to help manage production efficiency and cow comfort. Read the full case study here .

The tower is thought to be the first weather station. CWS President Nader shared this photo of the “Tower of the Winds” from a recent trip to Athens, Greece. The 2,000 year-old tower sits on Athens' ancient Acropolis hill and is said to be the first weather station constructed. In its prime, the building featured a wind vane, sun dials, and a large water-clock. While we don’t have quite the legacy of this historical meteorological station, we have shipped professional weather monitoring equipment around the globe for over 35 years! Visit our website for more information — and don’t worry, our weather stations are much smaller.  😉

The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Team is racing “EOS II” in the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge with the help of the Magellan MX500™ Weather Station mounted on their lead vehicle. The real-time weather data is used to optimize speed and energy consumption. Good luck to the team – we’re cheering you on from Oregon! Click here if video is not shown . Watch  the full vehicle wrap video from Wrap City Graphics here .

⛈  A massive thunderstorm rolled through this past Tuesday and was captured on the Weather Master™ trend graph screen, which revealed over an inch of rainfall in a 30-minute time period. While Oregon is known for its rain, this amount is pretty unusual for us! Click here more information on Weather Master software .

🔥 The Portland metro area experienced record-setting temperatures yesterday. Here's a screenshot from  WeatherMaster™  with a 95.9°F reading at our office. What is the weather like where you are? Temperatures spiked well into the nineties this week in Oregon.

We enjoyed a visit from Robert and Josefa of ShipNet Information Systems, who stopped by yesterday to pick up a recently ordered Orion LX weather station and get a tour of our facilities.  ShipNet is based in Gibsons, British Columbia, and “provides shippers, charterers and shipowners with timely, detailed, accurate and simplified precipitation reporting solutions for weather sensitive cargoes.”  If you are in our the area and want to drop by – we welcome visitors! Visit their website: ShipNet.com Nader gave Josefa and Robert a tour of CWS.

New upgrade for Weather MicroServer enhances security. Cyber-security can be a factor when customers consider adding a weather station to their network. A new Weather MicroServer firmware update offers network security enhancements, addressing potential vulnerabilities identified through third-party independent testing.  The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIS), a division of the US Department of Homeland Security, has issued an advisory reporting that the new version “addresses all the above vulnerabilities found on the Weather MicroServer.” Also of note, “No known public exploits specifically target these vulnerabilities.” As always, if your weather station includes a Weather MicroServer, contact CWS for a no-charge firmware upgrade. For equipment purchased prior to September 2015, a hardware upgrade also may be required. Please contact Columbia Weather Systems via phone (503-629-0887) or email support@columbiaweather.com. If network se...

Can you Imagine A Day Without Water? Tomorrow is a day to reflect about how much water we use -- not just in drinking -- but how much water it takes to produce so many of the foods we eat and products we use.  One affirmative action is to thank the water professionals who help provide that water to us. Celebrating  WaterProfessionalsWeek  (is it just in California?) we want to give a shout out to our local Hillsboro partner  Clean Water Services  for winning third pla ce in the Intelligent Water Systems Challenge last week at  WEFTEC2018 . The competition challenged students and professionals to use innovation and data to help solve “real-world problems” facing water and wastewater utilities. Eileen O’Neill, executive director for the Water Environment Federation (WEF), says, “Our hope is that the Intelligent Water Challenge will demonstrate the value of intelligent water systems to utilities and help foster the adoption of smart water technologies...

Today is Manufacturing day, a national celebration of modern manufacturing and the opportunities it provides within the U.S. We are proud to be an American manufacturing company, providing professional weather monitoring equipment for over 35 years and trusted by industry and government agencies worldwide. Learn more about our products as well as Manufacturing Day at the links below. “Manufacturing Day showcases how important the sector is for economic growth and job creation. We are able to show what manufacturing is all about — a high-skilled, technology-driven industry that offers secure, good-paying jobs” says John W. Kennedy, CEO of the NJ Manufacturing Extension Program. http://bit.ly/ColumbiaWeather https://www.mfgday.com/

We enjoyed a visit from  Matt Zaffino , Chief Meteorologist at  KGW-TV   yesterday. It's not often that we get visitors, so if you're interested in learning more about us, drop by and we'll show you around!

Happy Meteorological Autumn! September is National Preparedness Month. So if changing conditions impact your operations, keep an eye on the weather with a Weather Station from CWS.  Click here for tips on how to be prepared: https://www.ready.gov/be-informed Photo Credit: Nader Khoury --- #WeatherReadyNation #WRN #FallWeather #FallSafety #WeatherMonitoring #Weatherdata #WeatherStations