Hey Folks,

My homewaters, Lake Moultry, is about
40 miles from the nearest weather station.
For years I've said I wish that "they" would
put a weather station on it. You load up
your gear and drive to the lake only to find
wind/weather unsuitable for fishing. Last
fall after doing the "turn around" three
times in one week without wetting a line,
I was determined to find out who "they" are
and why we don't have a local weather
station. I started off with NOAA. They
had all of the expertise and how to, but the
project needed a sponsor to add legitamacy
as well as dollars. I went to the county
office and found a sympathetic ear but the
dollars were still problematic. A county
official told me the idea was sound and if
I could bear with him a bit he'd follow up
on it. Well, we spoke several times over
the next few months and he was getting a
lot of favorable comments on the proposal.
Finally today, I met with reps from NOAA,
DNR, the county, the power authority that
controls the lake and the local cable TV
provider. In about 90 minutes of informal
discussion, they identified the equipments
needed, determined appropriate sites,
agreed on a division of labor and
responsibilities, and came up with funding.
They also determined that a series of
stations around this huge lake, as well as
on the tailrace and the river beyond would
do a much better job of reporting for all
fishermen. They are going to provide
current real time weather, water levels,
flow rates, and several real time cameras
that you can access from your home PC. Much
more than I dared ask for.*G* And for the
folks without PC's they are going to put a
screen on the local cable system.*G*
Maybe you can't "fight" City Hall, but you
can talk to them and they might listen.*G*
Warm regards, Jim