Just two weeks ago, I blogged from the dark recesses of my electricity-deficient house (and my generous neighbor’s shared WI-FI internet) about the snowpocalypse taking over the Philadelphia area. That colossal white blanket broke records, shut down airports and highways, and caused mass black outs. Got to love the dramatic irony of a widespread whiteout resulting in an even more far-reaching black out as power lines struggled and snapped under the strain of heavy accumulated ice and snow…even after the flakes stopped.

Well, here we are again folks! It appears we are under Jack Frost’s icy thumb as we prepare for another (gasp) 18 inches of powder. Never one to blindly rely on a meteorologist’s sometimes unpredictable prediction, I’m setting up a portable Kestrel Weather station outside the office to track the hourly trends. The new Kestrel Meter with Bluetooth technology can send all the instant, on-site weather conditions straight to my lap top. This way, I can monitor real-time environmental weather data such as current wind speed, wind direction, temperature, wind chill, dew point, altitude, barometric pressure and more throughout the day! Plus, I’m definitely going to dunk my Kestrel into the snow to get the snow temp just for fun. Maybe Lindsey Vonn would have liked to know that as she navigated those slopes? The US biathlon team sure relied on their Kestrel 4500 for the most accurate environmental readings they could get…when you’re going for the gold, guessing just doesn’t cut it.

Our new Technical Support Manager, Ben Nielsen and I are headed out to set up the Kestrel 4500 with Bluetooth, collapsible tripod and Vane Mount for full weather monitoring capabilities. Welcome to the Kestrel blogosphere Ben! Look for video and pics as we do hourly updates on the looming snow storm. Hey, if we get snowed in the office and have to sleep here…does that count as overtime? Never hurts to ask:)

Kestrel Fans: How do YOU Kestrel in extreme conditions? Send me your pics and I’ll post them to our Facebook page, website and twitter. Or upload them yourself and tag me. If it’s a really cool pic, I’ll blog about it on NKhome.com.

Current conditions by #KestrelWeather are 34 degrees, Wind Chill 21 degrees, winds 14 MPH. Weather is as fickle as a 2-year old so be sure to check back for up-to-date conditions throughout the day.

Your Kestrel Weather Girl,

Monica

twitter.com/KestrelChick

facebook.com/KestrelMeters

mdevlin@nkhome.com