Joe Edgell has provided a new weather station for SOSCA, providing weather data to every SOSCA resident.

There are four ways to check the temperature, wind, humidity, and the like for our little corner of the world.  You can visit Joe’s blog at greenrenovation.us , the SOSCA website , the Weather Underground where the data is housed, or get your own console.  

To get information for the Weather Underground click this link, then bookmark it in your web browser.  Alternatively, if you visit the Weather Underground home page and enter our zip code of 20912 into the WUNDER search box, it should bring up the current conditions at the weather station.  The station should display as “Elm & Larch, SOSCA, Takoma Park, MD.”  Either way, you can view both current conditions and historical information since the station went live.

Finally, you may also view the weather data if you’re within wireless range of the weather station at Elm and Larch and have a Davis Instruments weather console.  There is no limit on the amount of consoles that can pull data directly from the station.  To be within range of the console, you must be no more than between 250 and 1000 feet, depending upon what's in your way (like walls).  You can find additional information on Davis weather instruments here.

One quick note about wind speed.  Wind speed is substantially affected by local topography, trees, bushes, and the like.  Joe has tried to locate the station to get the best wind coverage.  But be aware that wind speeds at the tree tops will typically be a lot higher than those near the ground.  So if you're standing on a hilltop that's not surrounded by trees, it's likely to be much windier than what the weather station is reporting.

If you'd like to get your own weather station, you can report your data to either the Weather Underground or the Citizens Weather Observer Program.  Weather Underground provides a nice description of the types of software and hardware available.  Joe would be happy to tell you more about the tools he’s using for the station and reporting, if you're interested.  Just send me an email to joe_at_edgell.us with the subject “weather station info” in the subject line.