[wxqc] Station Climate Data Files

[Sam Drinkard]

Dave Helms wrote:

> Hi Sam,
>
> I know you have put a lot of effort into squaring away your station so 
> I would dispute the claim that your equipment, properly sited, does 
> not meet NOAA minimum standards.  This may be a case of "not invented 
> here".  I don't consider my Peet Bros Ultimeter to be a top of the 
> line system, and my siting is not perfect, but I was able to measure 
> 49.43 inches of annual rain in 2005, while BWI recorded 49.14 inches 
> of annual rain.  I know my monthly mean temperatures are consistent 
> with BWI as well.  Long term consistency with professional sensors 
> should get you a little respect.
> I am a believer in the Field of Dreams movie saying, "if you build it, 
> (he) they will come".  So, NOAA climate people aren't thrilled about 
> my data, no big deal, give then another couple years of quality data 
> collection and they will change their tune.  I have authorized Brian 
> Hamilton/WBCR to release my climate data to  contractors and insurance 
> people who have approached him.  In the last two weeks strangers have 
> emailed me thanking me for making my data available; one used my 
> rainfall to solve a drainage problem that had previously caused 
> flooding problems in his finished basement and  another person said 
> his  mother lived in a nearby assisted living community and he liked 
> to know how cold it was so he could check up on mom.  My home owner's 
> association links to my page and so neighborhood mom's know how to 
> dress the kids for the bus in the morning.
> The short answer to your question is don't let a lack or interest from 
> the official climate community stop you from creating your own 
> station's long term climate record.  Once you have a long period of 
> record of quality data, many different groups will appreciate your 
> statistics.
>
> Dave
> CW0351
>
Dave, the odd thing about the state climate office is the fact that they 
use some type of OTS equipment looking very much like some of the 
vantage or perhaps the peet bros, mounted on a tripod near one of the 
local greenhouse/plant nurseries in several locations.  One of those 
also happens to be near Dearing if my memory serves me correctly, and 
tho Dearing is a very small community, it it by no means near the center 
of the county, nor is it a very populous place.  I suspect I trashed the 
message I got back from the climatologist assistant, but in essence she 
just flat refused to accept any data.  I believe I also mentioned the 
data was QC'd thru MADIS, but apparently that made no difference.

My friend Dan Turner, wa4bro in Roswell, GA had a contractor wanting 
data at 15 minute intervals for a considerable long period of time.  Dan 
has the data, and they were willing to pay good money for it, but guess 
they somehow backed out.  I know there were times when I worked for the 
Corps of Engineers, I'd wished for good climate records to defend or 
refute a contractors claim for a contract extension due to weather 
delays, as he claimed, but common sense did not play a part.  The gov't 
won the case simply because of a well worded rebutal to his data.  So, I 
know it has both a real value and intrinsic value, just as the case for 
the coop snow observer program started last year.  Lack of enough snow 
data is causing havoc with the long term climate databases.



Sam