Weather has always held a fascination for me. My first serious weather station was a Davis Wireless Weather Monitor II. A pre-assembled sensor array including anemometer, rain collector, radiation shield with temperature/humidity sensor, weather-resistant shelter, mounted to a galvanized steel mounting pole. I installed this system in Nov 2000 and started transmitting data to the Weather Underground on Dec 6, 2000 (KMNSAINT2). This was accomplished through a hodgepodge of old computers and shareware software.

I managed to keep this system running for about 15 years with some difficulty. The computer eventually gave out. Too much had changed and I could find no practical way to get this old Davis weather station connected to the internet again (I still have it).

Following the Weather Underground PW buying guide, I purchased an Ambient Weather WS-1001-WIFI OBSERVER in Sep 2016. It is a simple system to set up and maintain, but not perhaps the best design for Minnesota. It has been fairly maintenance free for 3.5 years, but is prone to ice up in the winter months, with the wind vane and anemometer the primary failure points. Other than that, it has been reliable and durable.

That brings me to Feb 2019 with the purchase of a WeatherFlow (KMSAINT315), which is operated in parallel with WS-1001. It is currently sited near ground level to facilitate battery changes, but I hope to change that soon.