Holton residents who search
the internet to find out what the
weather is like in their home town
have had few close-to-home options for weather updates.
"You always get observations
from Delia or Topeka or, if you're
lucky, you'll get a station that's
out on the Potawatomi reservation, which is a little closer but
still miles away," said Zach Elliott, a 2009 Holton High School
alumnus who recently graduated
from the University of Oklahoma
School of Meteorology with a
bachelor of science degree.
But through the efforts of Elliott and supporters of Banner
Creek Science Center, that's about
to change. During a Monday evening program at the science center, Elliott dedicated a new weather station that accurately records
several local weather conditions,
including temperatures, wind
speeds and rainfall, and is accessible through a Web site: www.
holtonksweather.com that is
currently up and running.
"It measures a little bit of everything," Elliott said.
During his studies at the
University of Oklahoma, Elliott
decided to "take some of what
I've learned and apply it toward
giving back to the community,"
and the placement of a weather
station in Holton seemed to him
the perfect opportunity to do just
that. He teamed up with the science center to raise funds for an
outdoor weather station, setting a
$1,000 goal for the purchase of a
station.
With help from science center
supporters and some of his friends
in the meteorological community,
Elliott had no trouble exceeding
that goal.
"Most of the donations came
from folks here in Jackson County," he said. "It only took me a
month or two to raise a little more
than $1,000."
The solar-powered weather station, installed in the science center's "front yard," is a fan-aspirated unit that evenly distributes
measured air to get a more accurate temperature reading, Elliott
said. It also measures humidity,
barometric pressure, precipitation, wind direction and speed
and ultraviolet radiation measurements to provide locals with the
day's "UV index."
For the present time, however,
the Web site only keeps track of
current weather data, although Elliott said he is still working with
the station's software to enable
weekly and monthly archives of
high and low temperatures, maximum wind speeds and precipitation measurements. The site also
offers regional radar readings and
a weather forecast for the Holton
area.
The Web site also will offer an
outdoor view from the science
center out toward Banner Creek
Reservoir via a webcam that was
purchased with money left over
from fund-raising for the science
center, Elliott said.
In addition to the weather station's dedication, Elliott gave
those present at the science center
on Monday a talk about general weather safety and things he's
learned during his meteorological
education on "what people are doing wrong when it comes to severe
weather." Common "myths and misconceptions" about severe weather
also were part of his presentation.
Currently, Elliott is working for
Weather Decision Technologies in
Norman, Okla., a weather content
provider that builds mobile applications and interactive solutions for
media clients. He expressed a desire
to continue working there, possibly
getting into the field of information
technology.
"That's my plan for at least the
immediate future," he said. "Down
the road, I'm still not 100 percent
sure yet. I'm still in that ‘early college kid' phase and not really knowing exactly what I want to do with
my life quite yet."
Elliott noted that becoming a television meteorologist or a full-time
storm chaser does not fit into his future plans, however.
"Broadcast is not in my future,"
he said. "Neither is the National
Weather Service. You have your
exciting days with that, but most of
the time it's really boring. I can't see
myself doing any storm-chasing. I
wish I could have that as a career,
but it doesn't really pay. It costs
more money than you'll ever make
with it. It's strictly a hobby."
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