News Archive 2012

We are pleased to welcome Vincent Iubatti as a new Technical Support Technician. A recent graduate of Portland Community College’s Electronic Engineering Technology program, Vincent also has a bachelor’s degree in television and video production from Wilmington University in Delaware. Vincent was selected because of his knowledge and experience with electronics and technology, as well as his written and verbal communication skills.

Vincent’s primary responsibilities will be to provide technical support to customers, and will also include product development, documentation and testing.  

Climate Change Forum
October 6 at Marylhurst University

Columbus Day Storm Commemoration
October 13 at OMSI

Winter Weather Forecast
November 17 at OMSI

If you are in the Portland area, these local conferences might be of interest. All meetings are free and open to the public.

Climate Change Forum – October 6 -- Columbia Weather Systems is co-sponsoring this conference at Marylhurst University with the Oregon AMS and Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Keynote speaker is Anthony Strawa, a microphysicist at NASA's Ames Research Center. Presenters will include Washington state climatologist Nicholas Bond and Andy Harris of the Oregon Health & Science University Medical School. Other speakers from Oregon State University will address topics ranging from climate change models to resiliency needed in coastal communities. Click for More Information

These next two conferences are hosted by the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society at OMSI.

Columbus Day Storm 50-Year Commemoration – October 13 – Fifty years ago, the Pacific Northwest experienced winds of up to 130 mph in the Willamette Valley and 170 mph along the PacificCoast. Take a look deep inside the storm, as seen through the eyes of the public and the Meteorologists who tracked it including rare audio and video recordings.

20^th Annual Winter Weather Forecast – November 17 – Find out what prominent local forecasters are predicting for the upcoming winter.

CWS is releasing a new alarm feature on the Weather Display. For all real and calculated parameters, users can select upper and lower limits which trigger audible and visual alarm. A visual green circle graphic turns red when alarm conditions are present. An audible beeping alarm sounds. The audible alarm can be manually dismissed or will automatically shut off when a secondary user defined limit is reached.

This feature has been developed in conjunction with CWS customer the Dalles Dam on the Columbia River. The weather display is located in the control operator’s office. Monitoring wind speed is critical. When a certain limit is reached, some operations are curtailed.

In collaboration with customer Joule Unlimited, we have added a quantum sensor option to measure photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) – solar radiation in the spectral range 400-700 nm. The sensor can be added to any CWS weather station with a Weather MicroServer. The quantum sensor is useful for applications such as greenhouse management in agricultural operations.

Joule Unlimited has developed a technology platform to produce diesel and ethanol fuel from sunlight, non-potable water and waste CO2. To help monitor their process, they are using a Weather MicroServer with the quantum sensor, as well as a modular Capricorn 2000EX Weather Station measuring wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, solar radiation, and rainfall.

With its technology now proven and operating at pilot scale, Joule is advancing towards commercial fuel production expected to begin in 2013.

Weather View 32 software for PC and WeatherSnoop for Mac now operate with any CWS weather station. Previously available only for the Capricorn 2000 line, these popular third-party software packages now interface with the Weather MicroServer, making them compatible with our Orion, Magellan and Vela weather stations.

Columbia Weather Systems has launched a new website featuring enhanced customer applications and more detailed product information.

When a visitor is looking at a weather station model, the new format walks them through the decision process for options of sensors, monitoring, communication, mounting and accessories.

Site visitors will have the most current information as the new CMS format enables easy updates.

We would appreciate any feedback.

Two ISO second-class compliant solar radiation sensors are now available as options for the Weather MicroServer. This improvement in our product line comes in direct response to customer requests.

The Kipp and Zonen (top) and Hukseflux thermopile-based sensors can be mounted horizontally for global radiation measurement or at plane of array (POA) for PV solar applications. With better performance and stability than our standard radiation sensor, these are specifically well-suited for monitoring solar panel arrays.

The Weather MicroServer offers Internet and Industrial protocols for applications including XML, FTP, Modbus/OPC, and SNMP. Optional sensors include visibility, solar radiation, and temperature (ambient, panel, soil, or water), as well as ultrasonic wind speed and direction.

Photos courtesy of Verizon and used with permission.

In the photo at left, the Orion LX Weather Station stands guard atop the Verizon Mobile Command Center.

The trailer supported the Indianapolis Department of Homeland Security during the recent Super Bowl weekend. When not in use, the 51-foot Featherlite trailer resides in Texas.

Thanks to customer David C. of Saab Sensis for spotting the photos online and calling the story to our attention.

Quoting from the Indystar SuperBuzz blog: "Having this trailer allows Verizon to operate in a very adverse environment in the case of disasters," Price said, "as well as in situations where there are limited facilities to provide a base of operations, as in the Super Bowl." Richard Price is Chief Business Continuity Officer for Verizon.

WeatherMaster Software is displayed on all the monitors inside the trailer and the exterior big screen.

Click to read more:

Orion Weather Station

Vehicle Mount Weather Stations

Weather Master Software

We recently received this photo and comments from Robert at Conestoga-Rovers & Associates:

“Thought you’d like to have this photo of the weather system we recently purchased from you. We had a rare December snow, so I took the opportunity to take this picture. The system has performed flawlessly. It’s easy to set up, easy to use, and easy to get data from. I’m very pleased.”

Founded in 1976, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates offers engineering, environmental, construction, and IT services worldwide.

Nice installation using the tie-down kit. Thanks for the photo!

For more info click to Capricorn FLX Weather Station