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About Centralia Weather Station and some local area demographics

Weather Equipment

My personal weather station (PWS) is a Davis Vantage Pro 2, wireless.  It contains a rain collector, wind anemometer and wind vane, temperature and humidity sensors.  I have a self-made heater in the rain collector to melt any ice or snow that may freeze inside. An additional temperature sensor is in the rain collector to show me when to turn on the heater. Inside the house, are sensors for temperature, barometric pressure and a console to display other information compiled from various sources.

The console contains a data logger to record and store the data collected from the sensors.  The data logger is connected to a computer and is retrieved by a program called Virtual Weather Station, or VWS.  From VWS, the data is recorded in files on the computer from which graphs, tables and charts are created.

The data is transmitted wirelessly from the outside equipment to the inside console about every 2 ½ seconds.  The data logger sends its data to the computer every couple of seconds also.  The data logger is capable of storing the data from the sensors for several days without the computer downloading the data. 

Weather warnings issued through the National Weather Service are also received and displayed on the computer.

Through the VWS software, data is uploaded to Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com/) and Citizen Weather Observer Program (http://www.wxqa.com/)  for further record keeping.

VWS uploads the weather data to a website (www.centraliaweather.com), where pages have been set up to display current conditions, warnings, past information and some forecasting. This information is updated every 10 minutes. Additional pages display radar images, satellite maps, maps showing some local and regional conditions and historical station data.

Weather Underground uses data collected from personal weather stations like mine to provide reliable, accurate weather information and monitors conditions and forecasts around the World. My Wunderground information can be seen here: http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KILCENTR2

The Citizen Weather Observer Program, CWOP, also collects data from more than 6,000 members to make it available to other weather services, government entities, and universities.  Data are sent to their servers where it is compiled into data sets and transferred to the NOAA MADIS server.  It is checked for quality and redistributed to various users. My information from CWOP can be viewed here: http://weather.gladstonefamily.net/site/search?site=D1376&Get+information=Get+information 

Centralia Area

Centralia, Illinois is an old railroading town, formed in 1853 around the time of the formation of the Illinois Central Railroad.  At one time there were several railroads that intersected and passed through town.  Several still remain, although the names have changed over the years.  The Canadian National/Illinois Central, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern still pass through daily.  AMTRAK currently makes several stops a day here at the depot.

Recent census figures show that approximately 14,130 people reside here, with a few thousand more in the adjoining communities of Central City and Wamac. The city covers about 10 square miles and is located 60 miles east of St. Louis, MO. For more Centralia information, visit http://www.city.centralia.il.us/ and http://www.centraliail.com/ .

Marion County, Illinois

Marion County, Illinois was established on January 24, 1823 with the newly formed City of Salem as the County Seat. The County contains about 576 Sq. Mi. and the 2005 census reported 40,144 persons.  The County was named after Francis Marion, a soldier from the Revolutionary War serving in the Carolinas.

Some Annual events in Marion County include: The Centralia Halloween Parade, Marion County Fair, The Centralia Balloonfest, Antique Power Days at the fairgrounds in Salem and the Centralia High School Basketball Holiday Tournament. 

Notes:

Made some adjustments to rain collector on July 20, 2011.  Hopefully will be a little more accurate.

An updated rain measuring cup was installed around 2015.

In November of 2024, after over 16 years of continuous operation, this original Davis Vantage Pro 2 was showing signs of its age. The solar panels were cracking and a capacitor inside the station was slowly dying and not holding a charge properly. It was decided to replace the outside portion of the station completely with all new sensors. Davis still sells this station, so replacement was very simple. Hopefully another 16 years will be in store for this one.