Dear Weather Club Member,

Welcome to the November edition of our Weather Club e-news!

============
Here’s a quick preview of this month’s contents
============

Weather Monitoring at Ground Zero. . . Davis Weather Stations Play Key Role in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . . . Vantage Pro Helps Save the Day at Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta…Vantage Pro Under the Christmas Tree. . . Skiing Guests at Hawk Inn Mountain Resort Check Weather Conditions as They Check In . . . Enjoy!

============
Weather Monitoring at Ground Zero
============

Like all Americans, we at Davis were horrified and numbed as we watched the events of 9/11 unfold. Like every American, we all felt the need to do something to help. It has been a small comfort to know that our weather stations are contributing to the ongoing clean up at Ground Zero. As rescue and cleanup efforts began, Weather Monitor II stations were installed and have been providing crews with critical, real-time weather data.

Nick Stefano, owner of the Sussex County Weather Network of Wantage, New Jersey, installed the Weather Monitor II weather stations at five locations at Ground Zero. One is on top of the Verizon building on the northwest corner of the World Trade Center site. Another is on the roof of the firehouse on the southeast corner. Both are set up to monitor the wind loads high above the ground. Three more are located throughout the site. Stefano chose the sites that would enable workers in the trenches to track micrometeorological events by taking readings from different heights at different locations as well as monitor the weather as it relates to the topography of the wreckage. Stefano has built many weather networks using the Weather Monitor II but never before has one of his networks taken on such an important role in protecting so many from harm.

Every large construction site crew needs to be aware of wind and rain. Every time a crew moves a large piece of debris, dust and particles are picked up, and wind can make the situation even worse. Strong winds at higher elevations can also have the potential to wreak havoc with tall cranes and heavy-duty equipment, endangering not only the operators but also the people on the ground.

In the case of Ground Zero, a storm that hit New York City on September 13th turned the ash into something comparable to wet cement. There were reports of dust devils and downdrafts. With work predicted to take over a year, it became clear immediately that constant, real-time weather data would be essential to the safety of workers and innocent bystanders.

We’re always proud to see one of our weather stations “on duty,” but a recent photograph of a Weather Monitor II standing alongside our flag on a rooftop overlooking the devastation of Ground Zero has tremendous meaning to us. In spirit and in our hearts, we are there at Ground Zero, standing united with all Americans.

For more information about the construction industry and its role in the World Trade Center cleanup, check out the Civil Engineering Magazine website at http://www.pubs.asce.org/; the Engineering News Record website at http://www.enr.com/; or http://www.construction.com/.

============
Davis Weather Stations Play Key Role in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
============
Only weeks after 9/11, New Yorkers are showing their invincible spirit by preparing for the 75th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy’s signature larger-than-life helium character balloons will proudly take flight in the skies high above New York City on November 22. The symbolism of this year’s parade won’t be missed by anyone. We’re rising up, giving thanks, forging on.

For the second year, Davis weather stations will play a key role in the parade. This year the parade route will be packed with thousands of New Yorkers willing to brave the cold and wind. Many will even come the night before to watch the amazing inflation process. Personal safety should be the last thing on their minds.

But it is easy to understand the problems wind can create with huge balloons. In 1997, a woman was injured during the parade when the gigantic Cat in the Hat balloon caught in a 40 mph wind gust and knocked a light pole into her. After that incident, the City set up requirements that the balloons be grounded if winds reached 23 mph or gusts reached 34 mph. They also installed new light poles that don’t arch into the street, and required more controllers for each balloon.

This year Nick Stefano, who installed the weather stations at the World Trade Center, will install a series of Davis weather stations along the parade route. The stations will continuously monitor temperature, wind speed, wind direction and precipitation for balloon safety.

So this year when the 57-foot-tall Curious George - who will weigh in 433 pounds and contain over 11,000 cubic feet of helium - leads off the parade, one thing he won’t have to be curious about is whether the wind will take him off course.

Be sure to check your local TV listings to catch the parade. (And for those early risers in the Omaha, Nebraska, area, you can catch our own Russ Heilig showing off Davis weather stations on “3 This Morning,” KMTV-TV Channel 3, 6:20 am, Tuesday, November 20.)

============
Vantage Pro® Helps Save the Day at Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
============
In our last e-newsletter, we reported that Davis’ Vantage Pro would be the official weather station of the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, held last month. The Wireless Vantage Pro and a few lucky members of the Davis crew were all onsite and wide awake, despite the fact that the art of ballooning begins with predawn preparations. Our intrepid travelers came home with stacks of photographs of fantastically shaped hot air balloons. Can you imagine a balloon shaped like a tree - complete with a bird’s nest? A shoe? How about a flying cow? The mass ascension was stunning, they tell us, an unforgettable and beautiful sight.

And Davis had a big role to play in getting all those cows and shoes and balloon-shaped balloons safely up - and, more importantly, safely down! For the past 30 years, pilots at the Fiesta depended upon the “Dawn Patrol” - a group of seasoned balloonists that launch prior to sunrise - to identify flight conditions within the Balloon Park’s microclimate. They also counted on Fiesta meteorologists to launch Piballs (small balloons filled with helium) in order to identify wind direction. But this year, Fiesta meteorologists had the added advantage of the Vantage Pro weather stations to tell them wind speed and direction, temperature, barometric pressure, dew point, and precipitation.

While the Vantage Pro documented that flight conditions were nearly perfect for most of the Fiesta, conditions turned questionable on the eighth day.

“Saturday morning was extremely challenging,” said Randy LeFevre, Fiesta meteorologist. “Winds reached about 30 knots at the 500 to 1000 foot level, but we were more concerned about conditions on the ground. We used the Vantage Pro as our primary weather-monitoring instrument for surface winds for launch and used it to keep tabs on weather conditions in real time. For most of the morning, we left the decision to fly up to pilot discretion. At nine a.m., we closed the field. Because of the atmospheric mix, the high winds from above dropped down to the surface and we lost our bubble of protection. It simply got too strong at the surface.”

For the pilots who did fly, the upper level winds created havoc for many. Eight hot-air balloons blew into restricted airspace at Kirtland Air Force Base. Three people were hurt when one balloon became entangled in power lines and another balloonist suffered a broken wrist during a hard landing.

“That night, we were very worried about the last scheduled Balloon Glow,” recalled LeFevre. “The winds remained strong all day. The good news was that by being able to track current and past weather variables over a period of eight hours with the Vantage Pro, we knew that there was a high pressure system approaching. We predicted that the strong winds would end abruptly sometime around dusk. At six p.m., a 20-knot wind hit my face as I was standing outside. By six-thirty, the winds died down to three knots. It turned out to be a spectacular evening for the event.”

While our fearless reporters didn’t get the opportunity to hop in a basket and take off into the Albuquerque sunrise, they did get to appear on a few local television stations that featured the Fiesta and the Vantage Pro. In one such appearance, Frank Velasquez, our Sales Manager, was so engrossed in describing the wonders of the Vantage Pro console that he failed to notice a rapidly inflating balloon behind him. He kept his on-camera composure surprisingly well when the balloon gave him a gentle, but firm, shove into the camera. He even managed to keep his hat on.

In an informative article by Tom Harris on http://www.howstuffworks.com/hot-air-balloon.htm, you’ll find everything you ever wanted to know about how and why hot air balloons fly, including the fact that the first hot air balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a chicken.

============
Vantage Pro® Under the Christmas Tree
============
The receptionist at Santa’s workshop has already relayed several phone calls from good little weather buffs everywhere who have put our new Vantage Pro weather station on the top of their holiday wish list. We have to admit, this is one terrific gift. The Vantage Pro features an extra-large, multi-function LCD screen, on-screen forecasting, extensive graphing capabilities, and a jazzy new moving ticker-tape display.

The Vantage Pro wireless weather station costs just $595. Various options-including a comprehensive data logger and software package to link your weather station to your PC and website-let you customize the station to suit the needs of your favorite weatherperson.

Give us call at (800) 678-3669. Tech-elves are standing by.

============
Skiing Guests at Hawk Inn Mountain Resort Check Weather Conditions as they Check In
============
Out here in the San Francisco Bay Area, our skiing buddies are just celebrating the first big winter storm. They may not be able to see the snow starting to fall in the Sierras from here, but they can feel it! Ski resort operators in California and Nevada are always anxious about our fickle winter weather, but all ski resort operators are eager for current, local weather data. One resort in Vermont has turned their Davis weather station into an added perk for guests by keeping the console at the check in counter.

“What people want to know, first,” said Tom Dillon of Hawk Inn Mountain Resort in Plymouth, Vermont, “is if it will be cold enough to snow or just rain? Then they want to know how cold it will be and if they are going to freeze their ears off while skiing!”

Located between the Killington and Okemo ski resorts, Hawk Inn is right in the middle of Vermont’s winter playground, where current weather conditions are matters of great importance.

“We have our little Weather Wizard console set to scroll. Instead of looking at a television while checking in, our guests check the outside temperature and wind speed and direction,” Tom told us. “Guests love it. We’ve even had a few guests who were so impressed they’ve purchased Davis weather stations through us!”

Tom is excited about the possibility of setting up a wireless system at the Inn and giving his guests even more weather information, especially wind chill, which in a Vermont winter, can be a very hot topic.

For more information about the beautiful Hawk Inn Mountain Resort, you can find their website at http://www.hawkresort.com/.

============
Well, that’s it for this month. Will be checking in again in December. Until then - stay warm and dry!
============

If you would like to receive the Weather Club e-newsletter via email every month, sign up now