This site is chosen by the National Weather Service to be the best location for their manual equipment and my additional electronic equipment. It is selected by the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. The site is located at 38-16-40 latitude and 87-59-48 longitude. The site is surveyed for the least obstruction by buildings and trees. The first item is the shelter house for instrumentation. This is called a cotton shelter. Known by that name due to it being used in the south and designated for that area of the cotton belt states. These shelters are regulated by the National Weather Service. They must be a certain height and width and length. Shelter is approximately 2 feet X 2 feet X 3 feet. Height above ground is 4.5 feet, must be all white and clean. Next to the shelter is the National Weather Service 8 inch rain gauge on a stand of three legs. Next to it is the electronic gauges. On a wooden post some three feet off the ground is an anemometer and wind direction indicators. The trench in the picture supplies lines to the instruments. In the cotton shelter not shown in pictures are the instruments of the electronic temperature and humidity indicator and the minimum and maximum thermometers. Keeping track each day of the readings requires you to do them at the same time each day. Therefore I take each day of the readings of the minimum and the maximum thermometers and also the rain gauge same time each day. Rain gauges measures in one/one hundred and the measuring stick is marked up to 2 inches. I will soon add a camera to see current weather at the site.

The electronic signals from the instruments are carried by special wire designed for the station. It is buried underground to the small building to protect it from the elements. All information is stored for 60 days in archive. It is a small computer. One can see all information on it by a touch of finger for whatever One needs to know. There is lightning protection equipment installed at this point. It is also the grounding point for all instruments. From this point the signal is carried by a module known as a modem. It is now running underground to another building. It now goes into that building and then out again to my home, once again under ground. The extra module known as a modem is required for proper operation of the instruments with long distances of wiring. Total length is approximately 300 feet and now reaches the computer room. At this end of wire is another module just like the one at the other end. This is terminated at this point for use on a computer as a serial port. I have the serial port terminated into an AB box for use on 2 computers if necessary if one is off line. One is also used to update information on this web site at regular intervals. All information entered is transmitted electronically to the National Weather Service, one of the few sites selected for this type of transmission. This allows the National Weather Service to use the information immediately.

Norman is a volunteer as an Official Advanced Spotter. The certificate is required to be renewed every two years.

The computer station is protected by a DC back up, AC power back up to power the instruments if the commercial power is out. DC power is switched on when a storm is nearby. Our house is over half DC powered all the time. Some of the other instruments on live is a scanner to monitor the public safety. Also, 4 small TV monitors to see local stations if the cable goes out and you cannot get the Weather Channel. NOAA weather radio is the best thing to have around all of the time.