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About Weather Station

October, 2006: I decided to become active again with Weather Observation. Meteorology was a hobby of mine years ago when I was in School some 30 years ago. Before I purchased the current Weather Station I decided a prerequisite was to have the ability to archive and share the data real time.

November, 2006: I purchased a Davis Wireless Vantage Pro2 Plus Weather Station from ambient weather. (An early Christmas present from my wife) The Weather Station was installed in our backyard in Country Meadow, Clay, NY, Thanksgiving weekend with assistance from my wife. Users can click on the image of the Country Meadow sign to the right to view Weather Station location. The sensors are mounted on a 4" x 4" x 8' cedar post in my wife's garden. Because this was going in my wife's garden it needed to look reasonably good. The post was then stained and placed in the ground with 100 lbs of concrete. Yes I over did the concrete - 50 lbs would have been sufficient.

The Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) is located 5' above the ground and 50' from the nearest building. The ISS contains sensors for: Temperature, Humidity, Rainfall, Solar Radiation, and Ultraviolet Light. The ISS is solar powered with battery backup and contains a wireless transmitter. The Anemometer is located 6 1/2' (2 meters) above the ground which is the optimal height for measuring Evapotranspiration. I have been debating about raising the height of the Anemometer to 10' (3 meters) which is still acceptable for measuring Evapotranspiration. The standard height utilized by NOAA for Anemometers is 10 meters for aviation reasons and is not an option for us due to asthetics and maintenance issues. The Anemometer which is controlled by the ISS measures wind speed and direction. Numerous other measurements are collected utilizing various combinations of the sensors ex. Dewpoint, Windchill, etc.

The data collected by my Weather Station is shared with the public thanks to two things that now make this possible; the microprocessor (Weather Station and Personal Computer) and the Internet. Data is wirelessly transmitted from the ISS every 2.5 seconds to the Vantage Pro2 Console (Control / Display) in my home. The console contains sensors for Barometric Pressure, Inside Temperature and Humidity. The console is connected to my Personnal Computer (PC) which allows me to archive the data. The software being utilized is: Davis Weatherlink which allows me to display all Weather Station Gauges, Weather data / reports real time on my PC.
I currently have the software configured to archive Weather data to my PC every 10 minutes via a data logger (Storage device) in the console. The data collected is shared near real time via a broadband connection (Time Warner - Road Runner) and the Internet. Weatherlink software was and is utilized to create / maintain the web site.

The data collected by my Weather Station is shared with the public in two ways:

a. "Citizen Weather Observation Program" (CWOP) a volunter weather observer program which shares it's data National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) near real time. The data collected by CWOP is uploaded to NOAA every 15 minutes via the Internet. The data is imported into NOAA database: Meteorlogical Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS). The data in MADIS is utilized for improving Weather Forecasting and is available to the public via the Internet.The quality of the data collected by my Weather Station is checked daily by MADIS for accuracy. Feedback is provided to data contributors so they have the information needed to check and improve their data quality. Becoming a member of CWOP was my first priority. My Weather Station ID: CW6839

b. My personal web site: Your Local Weather - Clay, NY

About Web Site

December, 2006: The web site was created and went on line to share current & historical weather data from my Weather Station with local residents and
weather enthusiasts. I have included links on the web site to National Weather Service (NWS), NOAA, & CWOP in an effort to create a single web site
for all your Weather related needs.

February, 2007: Added Historical Weather data web page to web site. A link for Snow data was created as a result of user feedback.

March, 2007: Updated Weatherlink v.5.7.1 software to address new Daylight Savings Time.

April, 2007: Raised Anemometer from 2 meters to 3 meters above ground.

May, 2007: Added additional weather measurement definitions to web site. Purchased and am currently testing software: InterWARN v.4.1.5 for
automatic nofification of NWS watches and warnings.

June, 2007: Placed new pictures of Weather Station on web site, also added CWOP Quality Checked GIF and link to CW6839 Data Quality Summary
web page.

July, 2007: Added "More Climatological Reports" to Weather History web page. Web page now includes all monthy NOAA format reports since Weather
Station went on line.

August, 2007: Became member of Weather Underground, Station ID: KNYCLAY2. Added Daytime Fan-Aspirated Radiation Shield (FARS) to
Weather Station to improve temperature readings. PC monitor died, was off line 08/27 - 09/02.

November, 2007: Changed appearence of web site, moved Weather Station pictures from web page - now have links.

December, 2007: It's the First Anniversary for Your Local Weather - Clay, NY
After extensive testing I added InterWARN software to website for automatic notification of NWS watches and warnings. Purchased Panasonic BL-C131A
Web Cam. Snap shots uploaded to web site once / minute. Also created link to live streaming video from web cam. On the 22nd reorganized web site more
user friendly and now with trend data.

January, 2008: Added links to WKTV Channel 2, and WSYR Channel 9 for Closings and Delays. Also added links to both television stations for their
Weather Blogs.

February, 2008: Added Northeast Radar and Fronts Map from Weather Underground.

March, 2008: Updated Davis Vantage Pro2 Console Firmware to v.1.73. Added links to web site for: Weather Web Cams in New York State from
wetter+klima and Today in Weather History from The Weather Company.

June, 2008: On Current Weather web page moved Country Meadow sign photo, added 4 day Forecast from weatherforyou.com and changed Northeast
Radar and Fronts Map from Weather Underground to time lapse loop. Joined Northeastern Weather Network - providing updates every 5 minutes.
Raised Anemometer from 3 meters to 4 meters above ground, this is the maximum height I can safely maintain the Anemometer.

August, 2008: Was off line for 13 days had to replace 9 year old PC. Now have new DELL XPS630 PC running Windows Vista SP1.
I hope this resolves the occasional Weatherlink FTP lockups. I also upgraded Weatherlink to v.5.8.1. and InterWARN to v. 4.1.9

September, 2008: The new Dell PC is experiencing a problem that is causing it to reboot about every 36 hrs. I have been working with Dell,
Davis Instruments and Tripp-Lite to resolve this problem. I have made several minor changes based on their recommendations. PC problem fixed
09/14, it was a Windows Vista issue. Microsoft Tech support corrected. On 09/21, purchased and installed an APC Back-UPS BR1500LCD battery
backup.

October, 2008: I continue to experience a problem with my NEW DELL XPS630 Computer. The problem is causing the computer to reboot about once
a day. I have been working with DELL, Davis Instruments and Microsoft to try to resolve.

November, 2008: PC problem solved it was Norton 360 v.2.0, I replaced with AVG v.8.0. Thanks to all vistors to my web site for your patience. Now
have registered Domain Name for website: "yourlocalweather-clay-ny.com". New Website Host: E-rice.net. Reworked this web page and
created new Snow Maps web page.

December, 2008: It's the Second Anniversary for Your Local Weather - Clay, NY
Corrected Home page table display now center aligns. Current data now updates once per minute.

January, 2009: Added link to NOAA Weather Radio from Weather Underground to home page. Added National Snow Depth Map from Weather
Underground to Snow Maps page and added Weather Station Photos to this page.

January, 2010: Created new page header and drop down navigation menu for each web page. Now have Find your Local NWS Forecast & InterWARN
Scroller in header. Created Web Site Map and added Affiliations section to this web page.

June, 2010: Took SKYWARN basic training for Storm Spotters at Clay, NY Firehouse on State Route 31.

July, 2010: Added NEXRAD Radar page with Lightning. Images are captured using StormLab software with data feed from AllisonHouse including
Lightning data from HSPLN. The following new web pages were also created: Mobile Weather for Cell Phones & PDAs, Air Quality & Pollen,
Snow Forecast & Weather Photos. Several new links were added: Lake Ontario Near Shore Forecast & Recreational Boating Forecast for local lakes.
Some of the images use to create this web site were captured using FastStone Capture software.

Note: On occasion my web site may not display current data from my Weather Station. This would be caused by either a power outage, connection
to Internet not working (PC or Road Runner), or by myself performing site maintenance. I try to check the site daily to verify proper operation.
If the displayed data is over 24 hours old please email me via the link on my web site. All significant changes to Your Local Weather - Clay, NY
and or the Weather Station will be documented here to allow web site users to observe the evolution of the web site and my hobby.

Affiliations - Provide Data To The Following Organizations