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Personal Weather Stations Helping With Weather Forecasting
Weather Storm writes "Weather information from thousands of personal weather stations are being used for weather forecasting by several private and government agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Citizens Weather Observation Program (CWOP) was created by a few amateur radio operators experimenting with transmitting weather data with packet radios, but it has expanded to include Internet-only weather stations as well. As of September 2007, nearly 5,000 stations worldwide reported weather data regularly to CWOP's FindU database. The weather data is forwarded every 15 minutes to NOAA's Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS), checked for temporary and spatial consistency, than utilized by computer forecast models and internal forecast verification programs. In a Febuary 2007 report (PDF) DHS listed CWOP as a national assets to the 'BioWatch' Network, stating that data from personal weather stations could be useful in weather forecasts for hazardous releases. In 2007, the FindU server received 422,262,687 weather reports which is a 29.5% increase over 2006." The personal weather stations certainly come in stylish shapes.
Minus all the dumb ass comment's, I've ran a cheaper weather station, and placement is key. (reflective sun, etc) But my friend has a nice Davis weather station (wired varmit) that works just great. They also have Wireless versions available. (disclaimer .. no ties to the company, etc..) As far as software goes, Linux versions are available, although running Windows software via a VM works.
Life was hell, then I discovered Linux...
People that participate are usually very clued up about the weather systems: Pilots, small airports, farmers and the like. They all have an interest in having accurate data.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
If you've never seen it, Weather Underground uses Google Maps and overlays all the personal weather stations (PWS)in an area view. They even have a published iGoogle gadget.
God: When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
They've become quite a bit cheaper over the years, and some of the newer wired sensors are very affordable: http://www.aagelectronica.com/. You don't need a display unit for the 1-wire sensors, just an open serial port. There is some free software available.
We don't need grants, just people willing to maintain a personal weather station and share data.
Now, I live in an area with a lot of federal land (a national park, forest and recreation area). It would be useful, since the ranger stations already are equipped with weather stations, if they could add their observations to the CWOP, or get them to NOAA somehow, but I'm sure that would require an act of congress, and be way over the top as far as cost/value of the info.
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
goto wunderground.com
enter your zip code
There is a box on the page called "Current Conditions." Scroll to the bottom of that box and click on the link called "Google Map of Personal Weather Stations." Here is an example link:
http://www.wunderground.com/stationmaps/gmap.asp?zip=94608&magic=1&wmo=99999
Each of the station icons, which indicate current conditions, can be clicked on to access much more detailed current conditions and often extensive history as well. I'm lucky that a nearby neighbor has one, and I get accurate data from his station all of the time. It's really the ultimate site for weather geeks.
A few years ago I was managing a hazardous material removal in a high profile public location. All of the work was done late at night to maintain access for the public to the building. Each night the crew had to build a 2 story containment of poly sheeting. Of course the site was near the shore and subject to high winds which could blow down even the best containment. Since there was a personal weather station very close by I was able to monitor the windspeed from the comfort of my home. On two nights the wind got over 20mph, and I shut them down for the night to prevent the containment from being blown down.
-- QED