Snow report
down cold
with sensor
By Jayson JacOby
Em«?fakj.-Ftepoftaf
l!u» iii-itu skiers remember
planning the lug tnp in their la
vorite slopes, utlh to ge! there
and find the mountain fogged
in or covered with it-v slush'
Larry Hambrii k. the head of
Portland's Micro forecasts.
Iru , said those problems mav
he tilings of the past
Micro forecasts uses weather
sensors located at various spiits
near ski resorts m the Oregon
and W ashing!on ( as: adr
mountains to provide tip to
(fateweather ami snow .comic ■
turns .is well as forecasts lor the
future
Harnhrir k said the serve e
which slid led Nov 15, was a
naturaI progression from the
cotnpanv s first lorei asting ven
lure. U tndsigiil which, start
e.j providing weather inlorma
turn lor Columbia River gorge
windsurfers on Aug 1S Petti
A lot ot the w indsurlers are
skiers Tlii'V wanted something
iike (Wmdsighl) lor sksii::
Hambrii k said
"There was .1 level ol llUstla
lion that seemed pretty univer
sal There was a void thorn and
we h'lt well-prepared to pro
vide what was missing." he
said
To tise Micro forecasts. cus
tomers must bti\ a i ard that en
allies them to acc ess the system
with a tom h - tone telephone
l lie cards conic 111 four levels
ranging from .1 Sit) version tiiat
allows it) minutes ol calling to
the "star" card that allows un
limited use and charges lees to
a Visa or MasterCard
Ihe system works much Iik<
the University's Due k Call reg
istration. with a variety id
menu options Callers can se
lect spei itic: ski areas and hear
current ami expected snow
: ondilions, as well as road con
(i it ions and upcoming events at
eac h resort
Mil ro I'orei asts 1 overs I mi
berime Mount Hood, Mead
ows Skibowl, Mount Hat helor
Hoodoo and Willamette Pass in
Oregon, as well .is six resorts in
ishmgton
1 iMHphnm* cards ar •* uni >
available at DoardSports in tin'
Eugene Springlii'hi .*r«'a. but
Humbrick says a sales group
will lx' coming to the area next
week. which should expand the
number ol outlets selling the
service
Humbrick said the company
uses sophisticated weather
forecasting equipment, hut the
real advantage o! the system is
that it s i onstanllv updated
Form asts will hi- updated
hourly it necessary he said
"It depends on weather pat
terns, hut we stay right on top
ot it around the i fix k
Although Micro lorei asts
utilizes sensors lor most ski
areas, it is relying on people re
laying intormation from the
Mount Bachelor and W ilium
ette 1‘ass areas
Hatnhrick said he is working
with both areas to add sensor
coverage to tile system
Hatnhrick said he doesn t
have exact numbers ol sub
scribors yet, bill that l.r.oo poo
pie used the Windsigllt system
He Is confident that many ol
those will also Use the ski ser
vice, and that others yyiii be in
terested in it as well
"It s working out very yseii.
Hambrx k said
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