# Any weather geeks out there? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 25, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377 "2023-02-25T22:17:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/1 "2023-02-25T22:17:15Z")
I’ve been watching the recent winter storms in impacting the western US, especially California. [The GOES Image Viewer](https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/) lets you pick which animation you want to watch, and the [Global Wind Map](https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/500hPa/overlay=temp/orthographic=195.59,15.60,342) shows the circulation at different levels in the atmosphere. You can zoom in on the circulation map and align it so it matches the satellite view, and watch the dynamics from the surface up to past 39,000 feet (200 hPA). You can see how it snowed 5 feet in the SoCal mountains yesterday. If you have any cool weather sites you like, please share. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/2 "2023-02-26T20:51:40Z")
Another interesting winter storm heading for the west coast. Enjoy the ride! ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/3 "2023-02-27T13:07:10Z")
Down here in South Florida, “Windy” has it’s followers. It’s a nice visual representation of several computer models for weather systems. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/4 "2023-02-27T13:19:06Z")
I love studying weather! When I was growing up, I never appreciated weather for the amazingly complex and interesting thing that it is. The weather segment is my favorite part of the news. Speaking of which, the sad time has come to say good-bye to [**Phil Schwarz**](https://abc7chicago.com/about/newsteam/phil-schwarz/) who has decided to retire. I’ve always loved his personality and style. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/5 "2023-04-12T21:11:00Z")
I knew I’d be back to this thread. I found this great weather website and thought I’d share it: [https://www.windy.com/](https://www.windy.com/) I like how it shows the entire world at a glance but also if you click on a location you can look at webcams and see the conditions for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/6 "2023-04-12T21:13:46Z")
How’d I not notice this thread until now? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/7 "2023-04-12T21:17:48Z")
Same here! Lifelong weather geek; from age 6 to 17, I was certain that my career choice was going to be “television meteorologist.” My most recent weather geekdom thing is that I attended a “weather spotter” training class, put on by our local NWS office, a couple of weeks ago. It was fascinating – learned a lot about how to identify dangerous storm clouds (and how to differentiate between clouds that just look scary, versus clouds that are actually severe storms), as well as how to report specific details of storms to the NWS. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/8 "2023-04-12T21:21:10Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > My most recent weather geekdom thing is that I attended a “weather spotter” training class, put on by our local NWS office, a couple of weeks ago. It was fascinating – learned a lot about how to identify dangerous storm clouds (and how to differentiate between clouds that just look scary, versus clouds that are actually severe storms), Hi there! I’m originally from down Kankakee way; much easier to spot storms in all that flat, rather empty space than here in very hilly suburbia. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/9 "2023-04-12T21:25:06Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > much easier to spot storms in all that flat, rather empty space than here in very hilly suburbia. It’s the lack of “empty” that’ll hamper my spotting a bit around here, in the near western suburbs; lots of trees and houses that hamper a full view of the sky. One humorous bit of guidance that they gave us in the training seminar: “We do _not_ want you to call us to report ‘I can see a tornado in my backyard’ – at that point, we truly want you to take shelter first, and only then, once you are safe, call us!” One knows that they gave that particular guidance because they’ve gotten no small number of such calls. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/10 "2023-04-13T21:52:56Z")
Tues and Wed we had record highs for the day. Wed was 10 degrees above the previous record high. Everything is fine. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/11 "2023-04-14T20:13:27Z")
Two days later and it’s snowing hard. Okaaay. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/12 "2023-04-17T20:28:30Z")
Very high [SNOTEL Snow Water equivalent % of Normal](https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/west_swepctnormal_update.pdf) in the west this year. This is good, unless it all melts too fast. It will be interesting to see how this impacts Lake Mead and other western reservoir water levels this summer. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/13 "2023-04-17T20:38:09Z")
I have a somewhat sophisticated weather station with a (inaccurate) rain gauge, and a hopefully accurate anemometer and wind direction meter, in addition to the usual temperature, pressure and humidity sensors. It also has a …pyranometer… (IIRC) that tells the solar irradiance level, and advises you on the “UV index.” The data is uploaded on roughly a one-minute basis to [Weather Underground](https://www.wunderground.com/), a site that collects sensor data from a lot of sources. Seems like a great site for Weather Geeks. I also upload rain data to [CoCoRaHS](https://www.cocorahs.org/) and have done so for more than 10 years. They’re all about daily precipitation reports from a huge network of users. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/14 "2023-04-17T20:43:12Z")
Very cool link. > [@Limmin](#): > > [CoCoRaHS](https://www.cocorahs.org/) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/15 "2023-04-17T20:46:51Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > I have a somewhat sophisticated weather station I’ve been looking to upgrade my weather station. Which one do you have? ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/16 "2023-04-17T21:57:20Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > in all that flat, rather empty space Reminds me of what a work cohort said as we were getting of a private plane in his neck of the woods (SE Kansas). “There’s no scenery to obstruct your view”. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/17 "2023-04-17T22:05:04Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > “There’s no scenery to obstruct your view”. I remember driving from Austin to Dallas, and seeing a sign that said ‘Limited Line of Site Ahead’. What? Some customers visit our facility here in Oregon, and ask what’s the name of that mountain near our campus. It’s hard to explain that it’s just a hill and it doesn’t have a name. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/18 "2023-04-18T12:32:37Z")
I have a Sainlogic Wifi weather station. The display unit is tablet size, and sits on my desk near the wall closest to the weather station. The station stands out in the yard about 20m away, on top of a pole, and is battery-powered. I installed it just before the winter weather hit last fall, and it’s been working great since then. I’d recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/19 "2023-04-18T16:38:16Z")
[Omnibus Weather/AGW thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-weather-agw-thread/980601) ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-weather-geeks-out-there/980377/20 "2023-04-20T00:24:57Z")
This looks way cool! Thanks for the suggestion. > **[Sainlogic Professional WiFi Weather Station with Outdoor Sensor, Internet...](https://www.sainlogic.com/english/sainlogic-0835-plus.html)** > > 5-IN-1 OUTDOOR SENSOR: The 5-in-1 outdoor sensor consists of rain funnel, solar panel and transmission module, wind vane and high-speed anemometer, and transmits current information about temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and wind...