Weather Station   -   Mt. Kisco Home Page   -   Questions/Comments   -   Data Archives   -   BLU DOT INC.

Byram Lake Weather Station

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Where is the weather station located and who owns it?
  2. When was the station installed and is the historical data available?
  3. Who installed the station and who maintains it?
  4. What do the blue bubbles mean on the wind compass?
  5. How deep is the lake temperature sensor?
  6. Why do some rain events appear to happen after the lake level begins to rise?
  7. Where is the soil temperature sensor located?
  8. Where is the air temperature sensor located?
  9. How often is the weather information updated on the WWW?
  10. What is “Lake Capacity”?

If your question is not covered please CLICK HERE to submit a query directly to BLU DOT INC.


Where is the weather station located and who owns it?

The Station is owned by the Village of Mt. Kisco and is located on the North West shore of Byram Lake, Westchester County, New York (See Map).

Back to Top

When was the station installed and is the historical data available?

The station went online in March of 2003. All data from the station is archived and available via the "Data Archive" link on the station home page.

Back to Top


Who installed the station and who maintains it?

The station was installed and is maintained by BLU DOT INC., a Water Resource and Environmental Management, Monitoring and Consulting Company (www.bdienv.com).

Back to Top


What do the blue bubbles mean on the wind compass?

In addition to the current wind direction, indicated by the blue arrow, the wind compass incorporates a wind scatter plot represented by blue bubbles. Each bubble illustrates three pieces of information: time, wind direction and wind speed.

A bubble represents a previous block of average wind data, in our case, 15-minutes. If you could see all the bubbles there would be 12, giving a total of 3 hours of data. Temporal order is established with bubble size. The oldest data has the smallest bubble and the most recent, the largest.

The location of a bubble relative to the N, S, E and W on the compass indicates direction. Additionally, the bubbles distance from the center indicates wind speed. The center being 0 mph and the outer hashed ring 10 mph. This type of plot is to determine a general wind direction and speed over a 3-hour period. The plot is most useful when glanced at, not scrutinized for individual bubbles.

Back to Top


How deep is the lake temperature sensor?

The lake temperature sensor is fixed 9.75 feet below the spillway height. Its position relative to the surface of the lake is constantly changing with water level. To locate it at any given moment, subtract the current lake level from 9.75 feet.

Back to Top


Why do some rain events appear to happen after the lake level begins to rise?

The rain data is calculated at the end of each day at midnight. A rain event may have actually begun as much as 24 hours before the bar on the graph appears.

Back to Top


Where is the soil temperature sensor located?

The soil temperature sensor is located 10 inches below the soil surface in the vicinity of the pump house. The overlying soil is shaded intermittently throughout the day..

Back to Top


Where is the air temperature sensor located?

The air temperature sensor is located on the station tower approximately 8 feet off the ground and is enclosed in a solar radiation shield.

Back to Top


How often is the weather information updated on the WWW?

The weather page is programmed to update hourly, on the hour. You may not see new data immediately simply because the process can take a few minutes. Deviations from the hourly schedule may be due to power outages, telephone service interruption, web traffic or site maintenance.

Back to Top


What is “Lake Capacity”?

Lake capacity is the water that is available for Village use. It is the water that is above the intake pipe. The intake pipe is 18 feet below the release height of the dam. Roughly 3/5 of the total lake volume, or about 1 billion gallons, are available for Village use. Lake capacity, due to the conical shape of the lake bottom, is greatest near the high water mark and decreases in a nonlinear fashion as we approach the intake pipe.

Back to Top


 Weather Station   -   Mt. Kisco Home Page   -   Questions/Comments   -   Data Archives   -   BLU DOT INC.
Copyright © 2001 BLU DOT INC.  All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/10/07.