From Blizzards to Severe Weather
Located approximately 50 miles south-east of Washington DC. near the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, this area experiences a wide range of weather dynamics from hot, humid summers to cold, snowy, and icy winters, and last but not least, tropical storms and hurricanes. In past years , spring storms have become more intense with several tornadoes affecting the region. Southern Maryland Weather is now in it's nineteenth season of operation. In the past, Southern Maryland Weather was featured in several Southern Maryland publications such as the St. Mary's County Times and "Southern Maryland - This Is Living" regarding weather watchers in Southern Maryland. Southern Maryland Weather was featured on local TV Channel 10 on "GAB With Alissa".
About this Station
Southern Maryland Weather is a privately owned and operated weather station and weather information web site, created to provide residents and visitors of the Southern Maryland region with local weather observations, weather forecasts, warnings and advisories specific to the region, live street-level NEXRAD radar feed, live webcam and lightning data, and other publicly available weather-related and climate information. Southern Maryland Weather was started in the spring of 2006. The station is powered by a Davis Vantage 2 Pro Plus weather station. Weather data is collected every 2.5 seconds and the site is updated every 10 seconds using the Virtual Weather Station Software. The station is comprised of an anemometer, barometer, a heated rain gauge, UV and solar sensors, thermo-hydro sensor situated within a 24 hour Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield (FARS). This station is situated in an optimal position as required by NWS standards for the highest accuracy possible. As in most personal weather stations, sensor location is very important but can be hard to achieve. CWOP Weather Station Siting, Performance, and Data Quality Guide gives our site a score of 25 out of 30.
About our Equipment
Our very own StormTrack 3000 radar display is constantly being updated with the latest radar information. This is possible due to a direct data feed from the National Weather Service radar servers which allows us to provide near real-time information and avoid any data bottlenecks. Our system also includes a BOLTEK Lightning Detection System which allows via the use of the NEXSTORM display software to detect lightning strikes hundreds of miles away, allowing us to detect the severest of storms in ample time. These detections are also sent to a national real time lightning display server which displays all the latest lightning strikes around the nation.We also employ several Reolink RLC-410W webcams to show our users the latest sky and ground conditions. All of our systems used are time-synched via a GPS receiver which provides not only accurate time but an accurate geo-position needed for our radar and lightning detection systems. Our EMWIN weather alerting system which allows us to monitor the latest severe weather alerts important to you. This allows us to distribute weather alerts via email and text messaging allowing us to get to you the latest and most important weather alerts as quickly as they are announced. Southern Maryland Weather's Web Hosting Provider is ICDSoft. We chose ICDSoft because of their valued service plans, 24/7 expert technical support, and for their reputation in the commercial world as being a leader in network hosting. We wanted a company that was professional, courteous, a leader in global network services, and had the respect from thousands of satisfied customers. We did not want to go with a small, inexpensive firm who did not have the reputation that ICDSoft brings to the table.Our website and related data files reside on servers based out of the CenturyLink Datacenter in Boston Massachusetts.
Sharing Our Data
WeatherUnderground (KMDCALIF59)
Personal Weather Stations (MDESPWXCTR)
Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) (CW6344)
NOAA MADIS (C6344)
AWEKAS (18249)
All about the owner
The love of watching the weather started at a very young age. Violent thunderstorms and heavy snow events just fascinated me. I always loved getting the Time-Life book on weather every week from the school library when it wasn’t' already taken out. There were cool projects in the back of the book to show how to build a simple weather station. Watching the TV news specials when tropical systems would affect the US mainland always captued my attention. All of this led me down the path to where I am today. After moving into St. Mary’s County, I went to the local Skywarn classes and received my card to be a Skywarn spotter (SMS37). I then purchased my Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus weather station and begin developing a website that would allow me to upalod and display realtime data to the county. This still wasn't enough. If I was going to host a weather site where people would ask questions, I needed to understand how weather works and all the processes associated with it. I decided to enroll in the Weather Forecasting courses from Penn State University and received my Certificate of Achivement. With my work being in software engineering, I decided to develop several applications for storm chasers, professional businesses, and other private entities whom desired important storm tracking data.
Credentials
Member, American Meteorological Society (AMS)
BS, Computer Science
41 Years of Software Engineering / PM, supporting US Navy Programs.
Certificate In Weather Forecasting Graduate, Fall '11, Penn State University
Certified Skywarn Member SMS37
Creator of SCIT PRO and WARN PRO Weather Software applications.
Thank You
This site would not have been made possible except by the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ. So many people have assisted in making this site what it is today. A big Thank You goes out to them. It is our goal to continue to provide the Southern Maryland region with the best and most accurate weather information. Your inputs are greatly valued and all of you are what helps make this site what it is.