Current NM Radar Image

A Look at What's Coming! (from the GOES 10 Satellite-IR Camera)

Current Terror Alert Level

For a a more interactive graphical data display, please go to the APRS findu.com website for the current RhizoTech conditions, as logged by the APRS (Amateur Packet Radio System). My data is being sent to the National Weather Service, which is recording weather data from over 400 Citizen Weather Stations and Amateur radio operators across the country via the APRSWXNET. (You can sign up your home weather station, and see your data here, too!!)

Here's what the NY Times says about us weather nuts. Click Here for a findu interactive location map of the RhizoTech Site. Note--the actual location is off a few houses. Please don't go knocking on doors!!

For another graphical/tabular display of collected and archived data, please go to the WeatherUnderground website. You may select various time intervals to plot. (These guys do a much better job of archiving/displaying my data than I could.)

Courtesy of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

NOTES:
The temperature sensor is located with the anemometer on a roof-top mast. In this location, it acts more as a solar radiometer than an air temperature sensor--therefore the reported temperatures may be more extreme than at official sites,especially during cloudless conditions.

This weather station is powered by Weather Display, written by Brian Hamilton, of New Zealand. The software powers most commercially available weather stations and is used world-wide. If you have a home weather station and would like to find out about hooking up to the Internet, check it out.

Occasionally, dropouts in the data will result from this less than perfect PC crashing. If I could only train a cat to reboot.....

OTHER Weather LINKS:
Latest ABQ NEXRAD Radar Image (w/ no ads or banners!!!)

Composite National Satellite View from Meteostar.com

Historical data for this site is at Weather Underground Station History.

and at Daily Weather Report

For the official word, get the NOAA Hourly New Mexico Conditions
I really like this NWS Western Region Forcast Map link
For more information about the 1-wire Weather station, check out the Dallas Semiconductor website. While the 1-wire weather station is no longer available from Dallas Semiconductor (it was originally developed as a promotional demo of the 1-wire networking technology), it is now being "cloned", improved, and sold by a Mexican company for the same low price of $79. See it here. (The 1-wire Rain Gauge and other sensors are reportedly still available from Dallas Semi.)

Check out a topographic view of our site at Topozone/Albuquerque. As we are located near the mouth of Tijeras Canyon, separating the Sandia and Manzano Mountain ranges, sometimes the winds get very interesting.

You may find other area on-line private weather stations at Weather Underground

OTHER Weather LINKS of interest to RADIO CONTROL GLIDER GUIDERS (RC Sailplane pilots):
Desert Ridge Middle School, an AWS//KOBTV WeatherNet Site, reporting Real Time conditions in NE ABQ, good for flying conditions at Arroyo del Oso Soccer Field and La Cueva HS

Here are real-time conditions at Moriarty Municipal Airport and Sandia AirPark near Edgewood. There is also a real-time webcam so you can catch the current cloud or snow conditions. And call 505-832-9985 for automated weather-by-phone at Moriarty before you drive out to the McIntosh Sod Farm.

Another site near McIntosh, at KOBTV WeatherNet/Moriarty Mountainview Elementary School will give continuous realtime conditions about 10 mi N of the Sod Farm flying site. Many other real-time KOB WeatherNet sites throughout the ABQ region can be found HERE. The list seems to change continually as schools are added or dropped. (Must be a function of availability or school district support of the school's internet connection).

Our grandest in-town site is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Park which allows glider and electric flying when no events are scheduled (note: proof of model aircraft insurance and an Abq Parks&Rec-issued keycard are required for use--AMA membership qualifies). Real Time Weather conditions can be found at findu.

Sandia National Labs for Real Time conditions near our newly available Manzano Mesa Park (a wonderful neighborhood park complete with grass, great thermals, and easy access to CostCo for that apres soar Polish Dog/Drink combo ($1.50)
Taylor Ranch Weather will give conditions reasonably close to Cibola H.S. (former home of the infamous Hiss 'n Boink 2 m sailplane contest, now held at the Sod Farm), as well as for those gas guzzling aeronautical noise makers at Maloof Park atop the West Mesa.

Corrales Weather will give more conditions near Rio Rancho

A useful predictive link (hourly ABQ-area wind conditions for the next two days) is at Weather Underground NGM MOS Model

A non-web-based link, (aka the telephone) (505) 891-1733 will give you real-time wind and temperature conditions in Rio Rancho, on a tower SE of Rainbow and Northern Blvd. This should correspond pretty well to conditions at Jemez Canyon Dam, our world class (except for the landing area!!) slope soaring site N of Bernalillo, NM This WindTalker phone line is run by ALBUQUERQUE AEROSTAT ASCENSION ASSOCIATION (The other guys who depend upon warm rising air for fun). They also have a pager-based wind reporter. Find out more here

[My interest in all of these weather sites came out of my Radio Control Sailplane addiction and the frustration of wanting to fly for certain conditions, only to get to the site and finding out that the weather is different from where I live and is unfavorable. Knowledge of these on-line sites will hopefully save us flyers a few tanks of gas!! Now, there remains one more Internet challenge--a WebCam at the Arroyo del Oso soccer field to tell us when it is available for its ONE and TRUE purpose--RC gliders!!!]

If you would like to contact me about On-line Weather Stations or Radio Controlled Sailplanes, please feel free to email me or go to the Albuquerque Soaring Association website to find out how to get a vicarious lift out of rising air.

Check out my other interest, GPS navigation and a review of some nifty GPS software from TopoGrafix.

Friendly legal disclaimer--many of these sites are run by hobbyists who, like myself, make the data freely available at their own expense and mostly for their own twisted sense of amusement. Please don't expect the reporting to be timely or accurate 100% of the time. Computers and hardware do sometimes go down, and I haven't taught our cat how to reboot my computer (the 'three-pawed' salute?). Users are responsible for the consequences of their decisions based upon the available data. And when in doubt, there's always the time-tested method of stepping out the front door, licking your index finger and holding it up. Please save any flames over poor information for the NWS and TV weather personnel--They're the ones who actually get paid to predict picnic weather.

I do hope you find this info useful!!! 1-Wire and iButton are registered trademarks of Dallas Semiconductors, Dallas, TX

Last Revised 9 May 2007