Move over Jim Cantore ...

The view from the AtticCam at Wandering Bear Farm 5:39pm MST





If you've ever watch a major storm event on the news there's a good chance you'll see Jim on The Weather Channel. Well there's a new weather person in town! This mornings high winds woke me a little earlier than I usually get up. But geez were they heavy. So I came upstairs and checked on my computer with Weather.com just to see what the speeds were. At one point they were posting speeds at 44mph and gusts at 56 mph. I don't know about you but for me that is fast enough! This house has been here just shy of 100 years so I don't suppose much would move it except tornadic winds of course. But this house was sure creaking, groaning, popping, and vibrating. even the lampshade on the desk was shaking a little.




I believe that the weather reporting site for the town of Calhan is just four miles due north of me but it sits high on a formation called Holcomb Hills. I haven't gotten all researchy but since I am down the hill from that site I believe that the winds are stronger where I am. This whole event got me motivated enough to finally push ~ set up weather station, to the top of my ever growing "To Do" list. So I spent some time on and off today reading the manual and during moments of lower winds I'd run out to set stuff up. But I'm stubborn and didn't want to ask for help ... add slightly stupid if you are the type to call it the way you see it. LOL!



As of 5:39 pm MST, the weather station at Wandering Bear Farm is online! Not literally online as in the web but it's working. I am please to say that the winds have dropped from the gust of 56 mph to just 10 mph. I guess the front has moved through.

Below you'll see what makes up my amateur weather station. Not much to it but I am quite sure that being a nature bug like I am I will be given hours of pleasure watching this thing get me through all the rough weather that goes on around here that I have heard so much about.

This is the main unit hanging on the wall above my desk. The readings are like this from top left to right:
Date: 9/11, Atomix Clock: 5:56, Time zone: MST

Wind Gust: 8, Wind Direction: S/SE, Indoor Relative Humidity: 38% Inside Temp: 78F

Future Forecast: Sun, Outdoor Temp 63F

Barometric Pressure: 32.82 Pressure History: 0, Wind Speed 6mph, Wind Chill --F, Outdoor Relative Humidity: 39%

This "twirly pointer thingy" actually has a name. On the wireless wind sensor there are two parts. The top is the wind direction and the bottom portion with the cups that spin is called the Anemometer. This gives me all the wind information, speed, gusts, and direction the wind comes from at the time. I placed this unit 14' high on the old basketball goal south of the house about 90 feet

This is the wireless temperature and humidity sensor which I placed out on my big elm tree in the middle of the north west corner of the yard. The unit needs to be in the shade and that was about the only good place I had that was close enough to the main unit but wasn't too close to the house to get in the way of receiving good readings. This device gives me barometric pressure, relative humidity, temperature, and wind chill when available. (I don't really want to see the wind chills here! LOL!)