Weather Maker: Blog

Arizona Monsoon Outlook

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:51:14 GMT

ARIZONA MONSOON FORECAST

SYNOPSIS:

AT 12Z THE 250MB CHARTS SHOWS THE MAIN HI LOCATED OFF THE BAJA SPUR WITH SMALL WIGGLES MOVING RAPIDLY THROUGH A BASIC WEST NORTH WEST FLOW OVER ARIZONA. FLG AND TUS SHOW RATHER WARM UPPER LEVELS WITH TEMPS RANGING FROM -39C TO -41C.

12Z 500MB CHART SHOWS HI PRESSURE RIDGE EXTENDING FROM OFF SW US PACIFIC COAST TO INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. FLOW IS NNE OVER ARIZONA AND DEWPOINTS RUN FROM -12 TO -13C. TEMPS ARE COOL ENOUGH AT 500MB BUT WARMER AIR ALOFT MAY CAUSE SOME SERIOUS CAPPING. THERE IS ALSO A SMALL INVERTED TROUGH LOCATED OVER RIO GRANDE BIG BEND AREA OF TEXAS. IT APPEARS TO BE MOVING SLOWLY THIS DIRECTION.

12Z 700MB CHART SHOWS THE -4C DEWPOINTS ARE COVERING ALL OF THE STATE BUT FLOW IS RATHER WEAK.

12Z 850MB CHART SHOWS THAT THE 8C DEWPOINT LINE RUNS FROM JUST WEST OF TUS TO GILBERT TO SHOW LOW. HOWEVER WHAT IS A GOOD SIGN IS THE FLOW IS SHOWING A MORE SE DIRECTION SO MOISTURE SE SHOULD MAKE IT NORTHWEST WARD.

TUS SKEW-T IS FORECASTING AROUND 1000 CAPE AND LI - 5 BY AFTERNOON SO THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE UNSTABLE BUT WARMING AT AROUND 600MB MAY LIMIT STORM DEVELOPMENT. THE CAP SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE MORE STRONGER TODAY THOUGH THE LOWER LEVELS SEEM TO BE MORE UNSTABLE.

FGZ SKEW-T IS FORECASTING MODEST INSTABILITY WITH CAPE OF AROUND 500 AND LI -3. IT TOO IS ALSO SHOWING UPPER AIR WARMING AT 600MB. THIS TOO IS SIMILAR IN THAT THERE IS MORE CAPPING, BUT A MORE UNSTABLE LOWER LEVEL.

TODAY'S OUTLOOK...

AS OF 17Z THERE IS VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE RIM AND SE. SO I BELIEVE THAT MOST ACTIVITY WILL BE LIMITED BY THE CAP AT 600MB. SOME STORMS MAY DEVELOP LATER TONIGHT OVER EASTERN RIM SIMILAR TO LAST NIGHT DO TO SOME UPR LVL SPEED MAX'S, BUT I DONT EXPECT ANY WIDESPREAD ACTIVITY.

FLG...10%

PAY...10%

SOW...20%

PRC...10%

PHX....0%

YUM...0%

TUC...10%

DAY TWO, THREE, FOUR OUTLOOK...

12Z MODELS TODAY DIDN'T INITIALIZE THE RIDGE POSITION AT ALL WELL. SO THEY ARE BASICALLY USELESS. THE BEST WAS THE NAM SO I WILL LEAN TOWARDS THAT ONE FOR NOW. ALL MODELS FORECAST THE 300MB RIDGE TO BUILD AS WELL AS THE 500MB. HOWEVER, THE MAIN CENTER REMAINS MOSTLY OVER CENTRAL ARIZONA AND THUS, EVEN IF WE HAVE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE SOOOO WARM AND CAPPED TSTORMS WILL HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME GETTING STARTED. SO ACTIVITY WILL BE VERY LIMITED AND ISOLATED. ALSO I BELIEVE THE FLOW WILL ALSO CAUSE SOME EVENTUALLY DRYING ALOFT. THAT WILL WORK AGAINST US ALSO.

FLG...5, 5, 5

PAY...10, 10, 10

SOW...15, 10, 10

PRC...10, 10, 10

PHX....0, 0, 0

YUM...0, 0, 0

TUC...10, 5, 5

LONG RANGE SUMMARY...

GFS - WHICH I DON'T KNOW HOW RELIABLE IT IS LOOKS TO PLACE THE 500MB HIGH IN A MORE MONSOONY POSITION. FLOW MAY BE GETTING BETTER ORGANIZED AS TIME GOES ON, BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW AT THIS TIME.

Real Environment Xtreme Update

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:24:24 GMT

Hi Everyone -

I wanted to give everyone a progress report on REX.

All of our Unit Testing is complete now and we have completed our 13th build of our Alpha.

I recently sent our Alpha 13 build out to our test team and things went good. We have some additional areas we need to fix and a couple of interfaces we need to modify.

We will have one more Alpha build and we expect everything to go well with that. So if Alpha 14 is successful then we will be moving to FULL BETA and preparing for release. Once we get to this point I will immediately post that we are at BETA.

When we get to Full Beta we will start showing some interfaces.

While the gang is working on the Beta we will be finishing the touches on the manual and will TRY to get the manual to the public before release so you know how it all works.

BELOW IS THE DISCLAIMER STATEMENT....

I want to make it clear that we are not giving out a release date, but just a progress report. So I can not promise a time frame at this point.

Sincerely,

Reed Stough

Real Environment Xtreme Video's

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:17:03 GMT

Hello Everyone -

I know that many have already seen these video's, but this shows some of the incredible work that is going on in the development of REX.

Real Environment Xtreme from Tim Fuchs on Vimeo.
Real Environment Xtreme & FTX from Tim Fuchs on Vimeo.

We will be showing more as we get closer to the release date of REX.

Oh BTW - many have asked about the release date of REX, our plan was to deliver by Q1, but it looks like that will take a little longer. There is so much involved in this project that we want to make sure we give the user the best and easiest experience.

Textures for Flight Sim X

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:17:54 GMT

Ok I have see a lot of textures being produced for Microsoft's Flight Simulator X, but these have got to be by far the best I have ever seen.

Check this out.

http://www.flightsimworld.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=129098

These are incredible and I can't wait till this becomes available. This takes FSX to a new level of realism.

Weather Maker X Public Beta 2 Available

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:14:53 GMT

Weather Maker X Public Beta 2 Avaliable...

Last Updated: Thursday, November 15, 2007

Calibre Software Solutions is pleased to release Weather Maker X Open Beta 2.

This is the most advanced weather engine on the market, giving the desktop pilot incredible flexibility in weather depiction and weather avoidance.

Weather Maker X not only offers real-time weather depiction, but now includes a random weather generator offering various weather conditions.

Either weather situation is now depicted in our new enhanced radar that offers map depiction, giving the pilot the knowledge on how to avoid dangerous weather conditions.

Weather Maker X is the first weather engine to show the desktop pilot not just precipitation, but turbulence, electrical cloud activity to avoid storms, potential hail areas, graphical wind directions at the surface and aloft, and many more features.

Weather Maker X takes advantage of the new Simconnect module available with Microsoft's Flight Simulator X (Deluxe Edition) to simulate realistic and randow weather.

Click here to try the open beta 2 version now!!

More Info on Weather Maker X

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:15:31 GMT

PRESS RELEASE FROM CALIBRE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS...

Calibre Software Solutions has released preview information about its new
soon to be released product called: Weather Maker X

Weather Maker X not only allows the user to download and load real-time weather, but
also includes a new Random Weather Generator. This is the ONLY weather engine
with a random weather generator.

For the first time a weather engine now has a truly realistic Weather Generator. With
a few clicks of a button and whola random weather.

This weather is not only visible in the Weather Maker X radar. Now you can create
the weather and avoid it at the same time.

Weather Maker X will be released soon to the public as a beta package.

Weather Maker X utilizes a new brand new platform called the Physix FX.

This platform includes an interface via the SimConnect module to Microsoft's
Flight Simulator X.

The Physix FX platform is the new platform that will be used by several new
tools that will be released by Calibre Software over the next several months.

These tools will reshape the way users will exerience the FSX environment.

These tools include:

Weather Maker X - Weather Radar and Weather Engine for FSX

Flight Maker X - A intelligent Flight Planner Tool that integrates with WMX to give the pilot wise flight plans based upon the weather.

Environ Maker X - Enviroment Tool that integrates with WMX that will change your flight experience based upon the weather conditions.

Storm Maker X - Let's just say it is a game within a game...

For more information go to our informational website at: http://www.weather-maker.com/wmxwebsite/default.htm

Announcing Weather Maker X

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 05:04:07 GMT

I am pleased to annouce the newest version of Weather Maker that will be released soon...It is called Weather Maker X.

This version has been built from the ground up using the SimConnect module and includes all the functionality of WMRX, but also includes a Custom Weather Engine for those who want a challenge with something a little different.

Here are the new support banners:

If you notice our new banner now sports our new logo for Weather Maker.

More information about WMX will be coming out soon...

Weather Maker RX - Service Pack 1 Released!

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:43:13 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

Calibre Software Solutions has released a new service pack update 1 for Weather Maker RX.

Service Pack 1 updates includes a new enhanced features with the radar screen and fixed some
items with the configuration and system loading.

New features include:

1.) New realistic radar precipitation radar echo depiction.
2.) New radar weather observation graphics
3.) New radar wind display with use of arrows to depict wind direction.

Fix items include:

1.) Fixed some FSUIPC loading issues
2.) Fixed over all pressure handling that defaults to realistic level is pressure is missing
or not configured correctly.

Current users of Weather Maker RX can automatically download and install Service Pack 1 by clicking on their Start button,
clicking Programs, and opening the Weather Maker RX menu and clicking on the Update Weather Maker RX menu item.

Weather Maker RX is the simiplest and gives the user a more realistic view of the weather for Microsoft's Flight Simulator.

For more information about Weather Maker RX you can go to http://www.weather-maker.com

Weather Maker RX is available for use with Flight Simulator 9 and Flight Simulator X and requires
FSUIPC provided by Pete Dowson.

Update on Weather Maker

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:22:46 GMT

I wanted to give an update on WMRX and WMPRO. Well things are moving a little slower than expected. Partially because of family vacation and also because of illinesses. Basically, things out of my control.

Anyway, things are moving a long on development of WMRX (Simconnect) version and I am getting ready to release another beta version to our testers.

Then I will be working on some fixes for the FSUIPC version of WMRX.

Weather Maker Pro is still planned to go through one more upgrade, but that will be the final release for Weather Maker Pro. In that I will be focusing more on FSX development.

I am afraid to give time frames, because I just don't know yet. Getting beta's have been slow on my part to get them to the testers as mentioned above as to why.

PHOENIX FORECAST

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:18:27 GMT

VALID: 20070828 - 20070902

TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS EARLY THEN LATER TOWARDS MORNING.

LOWS IN THE MID TO UPR 80S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IS 10 PERCENT.

TUESDAY...PARTLY SUNNY THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY TOWARDS EVENING WITH A DUST STORM POSSIBLE IN THE EVENING FOLLOWED BY A THUNDERSTORM. HIGHS FROM 104 TO 107. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IS 20 PERCENT.

TUESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THEN CLEARING LATE. LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IS 20 PERCENT.

WEDNESDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING WITH A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THEN CLEARING LATER IN THE DAY. HIGHS FROM 100 TO 105. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IS 30 PERCENT

EXTENDED FORECAST FOR: THURSDAY...FRIDAY...SATURDAY...SUNDAY

PARTLY TO MOSTLY SUNNY THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. INCREASING CLOUDS SUNDAY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS.

HIGHS WILL BE FROM 104 TO 108 AND LOWS WILL BE FROM UPPER 70S THURSDAY AND FRIDAY TO THE LOW TO MID 80S BY SUNDAY.

AZ THUNDERSTORM FORECAST: VALID 20070827 - 200906

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:05:24 GMT

VALID 20070827 - 200906

CURRENT CONDITIONS:

WELL TODAY COULD BE VERY INTERESTING FROM ABOUT FLG TO PHX TO TUS EAST. A LITTLE UPR LEVEL TROUGH IS MOVING THRU THE WEST PORTION OF AZ AS OF 12Z AND CONDITIONS ARE PRETTY RIPE FOR SOME STRONG TSTM DEVELOPMENT. ALL LVLS LOOK PRETTY GOOD FOR SUPPORT FOR THIS INCLUDING UPR LVLS. MOISTURE ISNT AN ISSUE.

SKEW T PLOTS FOR FLG AND TUS SHOW A GOOD UNSTABLE ATMOS WITH TUS HAVING A CAPE OF 651 BUT INCREASING TO 2000 LATER TODAY.

THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH SCNTRL AND SE AZ IS THAT MOST OF THE DYNAMICS ARE GOING TO BE OVER THE UT AND AZ BORDER WHERE MOST OF THE DIFFULENCE WILL BE.

500MB TEMPS ARE ALL ABOUT -6 AND WITH THE WESTERLY FLOW THE TEMPS DROP TO -7 AND -8 SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO WATCH CLOSELY TODAY FOR SOME ISO SVR WX.

KGCN...40%

KFLG...50%

KPAY...60%

KSOW...60%

KPHX...30%

KYUM...0%

KTUS...30%

KDUG...40%

DAY ONE THROUGH DAY THREE:

12Z WV SAT SHOWS AN INVERTED TROUGH MOVING UP BAJA WITH SOME GOOD CONVECTION AROUND THE EAST OF THE GULF OF CAL. SO I THINK IN BY DAY TWO OR THREE WE SHOULD SEEN AN INCREASE IN ACTIVITY AGAIN MAINLY OVER SE AZ AS THE 500MB TROUGH MOVES EAST AGAIN. I DO NOT THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE 115 DEGREE HEAT AGAIN THIS WEEK. THAT INV TROUGH I THINK WILL PUT A KABASH ON THAT.

WV SAT SHOWS A POSITIVE TROUGH SETTING UP ALONG THE WEST COAST. SO I THINK WE WILL BE IN THE SAME PATTERN WE HAVE BEEN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. AS THESE INV TROUGHS RIDE UP THE BAJA COAST WE WILL SEE AN INC OF STORMS AND THEN A QUICK DECREASE AS THEY MOVE AWAY.

SO I THINK DAY ONE AND POSSIBLY TWO WILL BE A DOWN BUT BY DAY THREE THINGS WILL INCREASE AGAIN BECAUSE OF THE INV TROUGH.

CITY....TUE/WED/THU

KGCN...0/10/10

KFLG...10/10/30

KPAY...10/10/40

KSOW...20/10/40

KPHX...0/0/20

KYUM...0/0/20

KTUS...10/20/40

KDUG...10/30/40

DAY FOUR THROUGH DAY SEVEN:

RIGHT NOW I DO NOT SEE MUCH OF A CHANGE IN THE PATTERN OVER THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. THE EPAC TROPICS ARE PRETTY ACTIVE, WITH DISTURBANCES AND WE MAY SEE A TS DEVELOP LATER, BUT FOR NOW I THINK WE WILL BE IN THIS ON AND OFF THUNDERSTORM PATTERN. SO IT WILL BE HARD TO DETERMINE WHICH DAYS WE WILL HAVE AN INCREASE AND DECREASE. RIGHT NOW THE NEXT INV TROUGH IS APPROACHING THE YUC PENESULA SO THAT IS ABOUT 6 TO 7 DAYS OUT. SO I THINK WE WILL HAVE A LULL DURING THIS TIME, BUT THERE MAY BE A LITTLE TROUGH SPIN UP SOUTH OF MEX BECAUSE OF STORM COMPLEXES.

CITY...FRI/SAT/SUN/MON

KGCN...10/10/20/10

KFLG...10/10/20/10

KPAY...10/20/30/20

KSOW...20/20/30/20

KPHX...0/10/10/0

KYUM...0/0/10/0

KTUS...10/20/30/10

KDUG...30/20/40/20

Truth and Fiction about SimConnect...

Fri, 18 May 2007 22:25:10 GMT

Truth and Fiction about SimConnect and the Weather...

I am afraid that many believe that the SimConnect is going to be the answer to issues in FSX's weather, such as: smooth pressure, smooth wind transitions, smooth general weather transitions, etc.

First, it is a great improvement and I am thankful that Microsoft has provided this tool, but many of the elements in the weather engine in FSX have not been changed since FS9. I believe FSXI will be drastically different when they get a chance to work on it.

However, these issues are not fixed and only somewhat improved.

So what makes products like Weather Maker, Active Sky, or FSMeteo different than just using the plain old FS weather loader.

Here is the difference and what the Simconnect module will help with:

1.) With Simconnect we now have a direct connection to the weather API and thus, gives us a little more customization of the weather effects. With SimConnect we can add more weather stations so this allows us to populate more weather stations and create a more realistic weather front; especially over water. That in itself will help with some of the transitions issues, but will not fix it completely.

2.) With Simconnect we can now integrate some other features of the sim into the weather engine and expand our ways of handling certain affects on the aircraft more than what was available in the past.

3.) With Simconnect the use over a network is much easier than previous.

4.) Development and code production is much easier. For example the ATIS report and actual winds and visibilities match up correctly. That is a BIG improvement.

So the next question is which is better FSUIPC or Simconnect.

In my opinion right now I am split. Simconnect gives me the developer more room for development, but it is limited only to FSX. There are a lot of FS9 users out there and so using only Simconnect limits us to the FSX user base. I think as FSX gains hold - especially after the great improvement with SP1 then this will not be an issue.

Also, Simconnect will help in getting more accurate reading for FSX, such as visibility, and wind direction. But FSUIPC does help in some aspects of the smoothing.

The truth is that the problem is really with the Weather Engine itself and not the add-on. The weather engine (FSX/9) takes data and stores it in memory heaps on the CPU. FSUIPC allows the developer to access those memory heaps and change the data in them. This is not the best way to do this in that it can cause issues. Peter Dowson has done a brilliant job with handling this and making this possible.

Simconnect allows us to force the actual application FSX to handle these weather changes, but still there is not an engine with FSX that handles the transitions well. This will have to come in the next version of FS.

In humble opinion I think this is a trial period for the Flight Sim product. I have never seen Microsoft push Flight Sim to be a more public product as a game with Service Pack udpates, and even Expansion Packs. This could be a very good sign. I do think that if FSX really succeeds especially if we can get what we see with Vista and Direct X 10, then FSXI will be incredible; especially, in the Weather Department.

Just my two cents!

Reed

New Updated Weather Maker RX DEMO

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 06:58:51 GMT

New Updated Weather Maker RX Demo Available!!

Calibre Software Solutions has released a new updated demo version of its new released Weather Maker RX. The features of this version are limited and you are limited to the flight area around KSAT, San Antonio Texas. But beware the weather in this demo is not all that nice to fly in! Included in this demo is the latest help documents that give you more information about the features of the full version of WMRX.

This version now supports users with Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows XP SP2.

Download the Demo here!

WEATHER MAKER RX - RELEASED!!

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 02:27:25 GMT

Weather Maker RX - RELEASED!!!

Calibre Software Solutions is pleased to announce that Weather Maker RX (its intelligent weather engine for Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X) has been released and is available for purchase at $19.95.

Weather Maker RX is the most advanced weather engine from Calibre Software Solutions and provides the virtual pilot not only challenging weather, but the tools to avoid the weather.

The new DNX-50 data-link radar system, gives the user a visual display of rain and snow, lightning, cloud turbulence avoidance, airport conditions, temperature, wind, pressure, visibility,
and Airmet/ Sigmet alerts.

You can purchase Weather Maker RX at: http://www.weather-maker.com.

[PLEASE NOTE: Please be aware of the system requirements before you purchase.]

For previous Weather Maker Pro users you will need to use the E-Coupon provided with the latest update 4.9.4 or the email sent to you if you purchased from Weather-Maker.com to get your discount of
$13.95.

Weather Maker Pro 4.9.4 Update Released!!

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:09:35 GMT

Calibre Software Solutions has released a full update version 4.9.4 for Weather Maker Pro.

Version 4.9.4 fixes several issues including some issues with the wild pressure,
and the radar not loading.

Also, included in the package is an e-Coupon to purchase Weather Maker RX at its
discounted price of $13.95.

You may download this update now by clicking your "Start" button
on Windows, and then going to "All Programs" and then under the "Weather Maker Pro 4.9"
menu item clicking the "Check for updates for Weather Maker Pro menu."

Weather Maker Pro 4.9.4 is for users of Flight Simulator 9
Weather Maker RX is for users of Flight Simulator X

WEATHER MAKER RX GOES GOLD!!

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:23:41 GMT

Weather Maker RX Goes Gold!!

It is a official - Weather Maker RX for Microsoft's Flight Simulator X has gone gold and will be released to the public on Friday, March 30, 2007.

Download the official press release, media, and system requirements at: Official Press Release

Weather Maker RX not only offers the virtual pilot a weather engine that provides challenging weather, but the tools to avoid that weather.

All previous users of Weather Maker Pro will be able to purchase Weather Maker RX for only $13.95, while the general price will be $19.95.

Start now by downloading the Video Tutorials to get a head start on how to use this tool.

Special Annoucement

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:30:30 GMT

A special announcement in regards to the release of Weather Maker RX will be made this Friday, March 2, 2007.

New Weather-Maker.Com Released!!

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 04:49:43 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE

Calibre Software Solutions is pleased to annouce the release of its new website for Weather-Maker.com.

This website offers more help to the user of Weather Maker Products and will give the user the latest information
about the soon to be released version of Weather Maker RX for Flight Simulator 9 and X later this month.

Give it a ride at: www.weather-maker.com

Weathe r Maker Pro 4.9.3 (Patch 1) Available

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:58:35 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE

Calibre Software Solutions has offered its first patch for Weather Maker Pro 4.9.3.

This patch fixes some areas surrounding the conversion of the metar file into XML.

You must have version 4.9.3 installed to install this patch. Please follow the READMEFIRST.txt
in regards to installation procedures.

You can download this patch at: http://www.weather-maker.com/update/wmpropatch1.zip

For more information or support please contact us at: support@weather-maker.com.

A Beta Testers test of WMRX

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:49:18 GMT

Iven Ellis one of the Beta Testers for WMRX sent me these snapshots of his test of the latest version of WMRX (RC4). I thought I would share them with you.

Okay I can't take it anymore

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 22:05:59 GMT

Well I have had it with the constant Global Warming this and Global Warming that.

I actually heard someone the other day say that if we have Global Warming it will cause the Shara Desert to Shrink and thus there will be less dust in the Atlantic and thus more powerful hurricanes.

The focus of Global Warming - by the media has been all around what Man is doing to the earth. Anytime real reseach shows something in dispute it gets buried in the news or never reported on.

I do believe in natural micro-warming is basically caused by sprawl of growning asphalt in Cities. This can cause the un-natural rising of temperatures over time where weather stations are located. We all know that buildings and asphalt retain heat, thus this WILL cause yearly temperatures to rise over time. Thus, yearly averages will rise and micro-weather may be affected. I have noticed over the past 20 years in Phoenix that the Thunderstorm season has been affected by micro-weather.

But what we forget is that only a very small portion of the Atmosphere and Oceans are really understood. It is man arrogance that thinks we have grasped all there is to know about these sciences and thus postulate what that we are "causing" or can even "change" the weather.

Last month we saw one of the warmest decembers on record - but in January especially in the Warm Southwest we will see one of the coldest on record. So how can we say this is Global Warming or Freezing.

Another element I do not hear a lot about is the Sun and the Core of the Earth.

Believe it or not we are sitting on a planet whose center is full of lava. We are sort of sitting on a frying pan. Who says the core of the earth is not increasing. Or areas in the oceans are releasing extremely hot jets of water that affect large portions of ocean currents, thus, changing water temperatures, which affects weather and climate.

Also, the sun - who says that the sun is not warming the earth more. Think about how may light years away the earth is from the sun. What we see today is not necessarily what we will experience.

All these elements are far greater in size and mass than several million cars.

Just my two cents!

Weather Maker Pro 4.9.3 Update Available

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 00:02:43 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Calibre Software Solutions has release a new Update to its product Weather Maker Pro 4.9. This is a cumulative full update and
covers all previous patches and updates.

To acquire this download one can click on the link "Check for updates to Weather Maker Pro" on their Windows Startbar menu under Weather Maker Pro 4.9.

This will automatically download the new update, uninstall the older version, and install the new build 4.9.3.

This update covers the following items:

1.) This now allows users of Windows 2000 to install Weather Maker Pro.

2.) It fixes the issue of possible invalid characters that might cause the loading of weather into FS9 to fail.

Also, before the update is installed there is a serial key that unlocks the update. It will be posted on the popup download window describing the fixes of this update. Please use this key to unlock the update. If you have any questions about this please contact us at: support@weather-maker.com.

Weather Maker Pro 4.9.2 critical Update Released

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 05:45:56 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Calibre Software Solutions has release a new critical update to its product Weather Maker Pro 4.9. This is a cumulative full update and
covers all previous patches and updates.

To acquire this download one can click on the link "Check for updates to Weather Maker Pro" on their Windows Startbar menu under Weather Maker Pro 4.9.

This will automatically download the new update, uninstall the older version, and install the new build 4.9.2.

Also, before the update is installed there is a serial key that unlocks the update. It will be posted on the popup download window describing the fixes of this update. Please use this key to unlock the update.

If you have any questions about this please contact us at: support@weather-maker.com.

PATCH 2 - Weather Maker Pro 4.9 - Available

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 07:29:25 GMT

The second patch for Weather Maker Pro 4.9 is now available to download.

Requirements are:

1.) You must have the full version of Weather Maker Pro 4.9
2.) You must install the 1st patch for Weather Maker Pro

Fixes include:

1.) WideFS fixes
2.) Auto load Real-Time weather now loads automatically when starting WMPRO
3.) Fixes to Real-Time weather loading process

Download patches at:

Patch 1
http://www.weather-maker.com/update/wmproupdate1.zip

Patch 2
http://www.weather-maker.com/update/wmproupdate2.zip

PLEASE READ THE READMEFIRST FILE BEFORE INSTALLATION!!

Winter Forecast for JAN, FEB, MAR 2007

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 01:19:35 GMT

Looking at the past the year that so far looks to be the closest to this year for the US looks to be the El Nino Year of 77, 78. If you look at the months leading up to December (that being Oct and Nov), the overall precip and temp averages are very much alike. Especially for the southwest. As a matter of fact it did not seem very El Ninoish so to speak. I don't think this winter will be any different than that one.

When you look at Jan - Mar of 78 it was one of the Coldest Winters on record for pretty much all the US from the Rockies East. But most of the Precip occuried over the Southwest and Southeast.

Obviously, there are many factors to play in this, but I am hopeful that Winter is coming. Temperatures in the west will be above normal, but the east will be eventually in the deep freeze.

I think many forecasters will have Egg on their face in that they are forecasting a warmer than normal winter for much of the east. But of course at the end I may be the one with Egg on my face. Only time will tell.

New Patch for Weather Maker Pro 4.9

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 02:24:14 GMT

There is a new patch for Weather Maker Pro 4.9

You can download it at: http://www.weather-maker.com/update/wmproupdate1.zip

PLEASE READ THE READMEFIRST text file before installation.

Weather Maker Pro 4.9 Update Available and Now only $8.95

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:39:26 GMT

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE FROM CALIBRE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Calibre Software Solutions in celebration of this Joyous Time of year has released a new
update for Weather Maker Professional 4.9 and has also slashed its prices to $8.95.

Weather Maker Pro 4.9 changes the way you approach weather for Microsoft Flight Simulator
2004. You can download Realtime weather or create your own weather scenarios. Weather
Maker Pro 4.9 continues support with a special format for users of Flight Environment 2004.

The update is free to previous owners of Weather Maker Pro 4.9.

You can purchase or download the update at: http://www.weather-maker.com/content/purchase.aspx

Weather Maker Pro 4.9 requires: FSUIPC 3.60 + (Registration not required), Microsoft's .Net Framework 1.0 or 1.1 and is only
for Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2004.

System Requirements for Weather Maker RX

Fri, 24 Nov 2006 19:54:36 GMT

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR WEATHER MAKER RX

The following is the system requirements for Weather Maker RX when it is released. Weather Maker RX will be available for use with Microsoft's Flight Simulator 9 and 10.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
For Flight Simulator 9:
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Windows XP Service Pack 2
Pentium 4 2.0 GHZ or AMD
1 Gig Ram
6800 Nvidia or Compatible Video Card or Higher
.NET Framework 2.0
FSUIPC 3.6 or greater (Does not have to registered)

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For Flight Simulator X:
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Windows XP Service Pack 2
Pentium 4 2.0 GHZ or AMD
2 Gig Ram (MINIMUM)
6800 Nvidia or Compatible Video Card or Higher (MINIMUM)
.NET Framework 2.0
FSUIPC 4.0 or greater (Does not have to registered)

***PLEASE NOTES: Later updates for FSX will no longer require FSUIPC, but will utilize the SimConnect utility.

EL Nino a bust for the Southwest US

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:17:47 GMT

Why I think the El Nino this year may end up being a bust for the SW USA and Great for Skiers in the NE USA.

Okay, I said earlier in the year that this could be a big El Nino year, but I have been watching the patterns very closely over the past fall months, and unless the high pressure ridge parked off the Baja Pensula moves or break downs soon, the El Nino could be a bust for the SW USA. At least as long as it stays there I would say the Eastern Seaboard could get several strong Northeasters this year.

It won't be real cold, but the storms that form on the East will have a lot to blow up with as they do get some Artic Air to entrain into them.

For a true wet pattern in the West we need higher pressures to build over Canada and lower overall pressures over the Southern Tier States. It just ain't happening:

See this Image: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/814day.03.gif

Above normal high anomolies have been seen from the SW to the Midwest. And lower anomolies have been over the NW and Canada. This pattern has been this way since basically the beginning of October with a few shifts here and there. Also, with the strong vortext SE of Greenland this will not allow the ridge to move. We need a strong ridge over Greenland to allow the lower anomolies to form over the west and southwest.

Time will only tell, but I do not see a real pattern shift for awhile. The CPC is predicting above normal precip over the SW and TX area, but I not totally buying into that yet. It may not happen until Late Jan, Feb, or March for us.

Video Tutorial of WMRX coming soon...

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 18:49:57 GMT

VIDEO TUTORIAL OF WMRX IN ACTION COMING SOON...

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting screen shots of the up coming version of Weather Maker RX. I will also be including a very extensive overview of its features soon.

We also will be doing a Video Tutorial that will be made available before release.

Details of this will be occuring within the next week couple of weeks.

Weather Maker RX (Release Candidate 1) Released

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 01:01:24 GMT

We have released the Release Candidate 1 to our beta testers. This is getting very exciting in that we have added many new features since the Demo version of WMRX was released.

Also, we have enhanced the clouds for FSX, in that they are volumetric looking.

It is looking like the release will be towards late November or early December.

Some cool games

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:00:11 GMT

Cooliest Games!

Here is a list of some of the coolest games I have played recently and their strengths:

1.) Anno 1701 - This is a combination of Ages of Empires 3, Civilization 4, and Sim City...Just got and give it a 4 1/2 out 5.

2.) Ages of Empires 3 and War Chiefs - RTS war game in the early settlers time period...Very great graphics a few bugs 3 1/2 out 5.

3.) Flight Simulator X - FLight Simulator very cool effects and graphics with better flight dynamics - 3 1/2 out 5.

4.) Star Wars Empire at War - RTS game with "The Force" added. Cool to fight both in space and on the ground, graphics could be better and so could the development of planets. 3 out of 5

5.) Battle for Middle Earth I - RTS and very well done graphically, but development of camps get a little old over time. Scenarios are best bet to play in. 2 3/4 out of 5.

More to come later.

New Weather Maker RX Video

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:50:14 GMT

Check our new Weather Maker RX Video... It is very jazzy:

http://www.weather-maker.com/files/weathermakerrx.wmv

Weather Maker RX DEMO RELEASED!!

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 00:23:55 GMT

PRESS RELEASE FROM CALIBRE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Calibre Software Solutions is pleased to annouce the release of the free demo version
of Weather Maker RX.

This demo version of the next generation of Weather Maker Engines is limited to the
area of weather around KBHM - Birmingham, Alabama USA. Thus, you may only fly in
that area for now to view the weather.

Weather Maker RX is compatible with Microsoft's FS9 and FSX. For operation with FS9 you
must have installed FSUIPC 3.7.0+ and for FSX you must have FSUIPC 4 installed.

Weather Maker RX is the most simpliest, yet robust Weather Engine that includes the new
AMWE (Accurate Meteorological Weather Engine) using real meteorological equations and formulas.

Yet the weather engine is completely integrated with in its new WNX-50 Weather DataLink Radar gauge
offering the first graphical view of the weather situation around you.

Weather Maker RX when released will be the start of long line of Weather Add-ons for Flight Simulator 9 and X
from Calibre Software Solutions.

You give the demo a test drive at: www.weather-maker.com

Wow - Weather Maker is linked to Global Warming!

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:32:41 GMT

Ah now I thought that Title would get your attention.

I just did a search on google.com for weather-maker and noticed on the left an advertisement for a book by Tim Flannery called: "The Weather-Makers: How man is changing the Climate and What it means for life on the earth."

Okay I am not trying to be sarcastic about a very serious topic for a lot of people - I just thought I found it interesting. When I went to the link on Amazon.com I saw a lot of articles using the name Weather Maker and Global Warming.

So what do you think - is man changing the climate or is the climate changing itself?

I don't want this to become a bashing on the politics and who should be doing what, but I would like to know what people think and why. So if it is politicial to you then DON'T comment.

Long but cool flight from Atlanta

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 04:58:14 GMT

Yesterday I was flying in a Delta 757 at about 35000 ft and we hit an incredible Lightning Storm over West Texas.

It was a pretty smooth flight till then. I was dosing off in that it was about 12AM from where I came and had some serious jet lag. Then all of sudden the plane started bouncing all over the place. I looked outside the window and saw all kinds of lightning. It was spectacular.

Now if I can just create that same effect in FSX!!

My thoughts on Weather Engines for Flight Simulator

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 05:45:04 GMT

Okay you might think I am going to be really biased on a blog devoted to Weather Maker. Well you are wrong.

I look at it this way the goal of all us Weather Freaks for Flight Simulator is to create the most realistic experience in weather possible. I mean face it - it really is the only thing besides the aircraft having problems that gives a pilot pure problems. Unless you fly combat sims of course. But for the Flight Sim user in my humble opionion it is the weather that gives the depth and challenge from start to finish.

Are you like me that before I start Flight Sim I look for the most challenging weather area and do crossover flights all day long in and out of the soup. I am glad I do not fly for a real carrier. I would have been fired a long time ago.

So who benefits in this is YOU the customer. And who goes insane is our wives, in that we the developers spend time trying to out do the other.

Believe it or not Damian from Active Sky and I actually talked this past summer about our projects and how it affects our wives. A very nice guy by the way.

Well before I developed Weather Maker, I pretty much tried them all.

I tried Wetter 2004, FSMETEO (I forget which version), Active Sky 5 and 6, FSMetar (free version), and a few of the Weather Themes that were created on the market out there.

I must say that all of them had an interesting bent on how the developers viewed the weather for Flight Sim.

Some took more a realistic view whereas some as a more Simulated approach. For example I liked what Klaus (which I am probably writing his name incorrectly) did with Wetter 2004. Instead of approaching weather from a downloaded source he approached it from more of a simulated view in which Wetter 2004 created random weather. It was my best choice for simulated weather at first for a long time.

I liked Active Sky because of Damian's work to take the real-time weather experience beyond just weather, but actually the clouds and sky textures - that was until Peter Wilding came out with Flight Environment 2004 and GE - then things just got better. (Credit must also go to Anthony Voz and Carl Hackman) - Three of the nicest guys you could talk to.

So where am I going with this and why did I not mention Weather Maker. Well I wanted to show I am not biased - I just like weather. As a matter of fact I like it so much I consider Flight Simulator more of a way to create a weather simulator than a flight simulator.

I imagine with the advent of the Simconnect SDK for FSX there will be more Weather Engines to choose from. In which I will probably spend my money on to try out to see what perspective each developer takes.

Ok I will admit I don't just use Weather Maker all the time. I am not afraid to say that. Like I said each one of these weather tools I mentioned above play a different part. If anything this gives the market a rich experience for the user.

Of course none of the weather engines that are out there could be possible if it weren't for Pete Dowson's hard work on FSUIPC. I must say over the past several years he worked very hard to expand FSUIPC from when I first started programming with it. - Bravo Mr. Dowson!

Ok I am going to leave it at that and not go any further - except I look forward to what the next generation will bring. Actually, I am looking most forward to what Vista and Direct X does to FSX. If the images that I have seen come even close to what is expected, it will be the closest I have seen to really flying an airplane. Gee I guess I am going to have to save my money for that too.

A BIG thank you to all at ACES, for putting out another great product - without you then none of this would be happening at all!!!

Get ready for an El Nino Year!!

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 06:46:55 GMT

What a change from last year in regards to the Weather in the Western US!

Check out the ITCZ:

http://weather.cod.edu/satellite/regional/nhem-ir.gif

This will be a very wet year for the southern tier states. Now the question is will they say it is because of Global Warming!

(Don't get me started!)

Great Book to Read for Weather Nuts!

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 06:10:33 GMT

In my spare time - yeah right!

I have been reading (actually listening) to a great book called: Isaac's Storm.

This is the story about the man how was in charge of the Weather Service office in Galvaston Texas on September 8, 1900. The story is about historic accounts and events that lead up to the most deadly hurricane to hit the US.

It is a very interesting read and very thought provoking.

In The Works

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:25:28 GMT

Well I am sitting excited about the future of WM and FS and what it will bring. Man have the emails been pouring in about what is coming up. Also some have wondered about the future of WMPRO. Weather Maker Pro will be replaced with a new version called #!=-!#. Oops I can't disclose the name yet but it will be really cool. This very soon to be wx engine will be the first in a generation of weather tools offered this time. It will first be released for FS9, then a couple weeks later offered for FSX. It will utilize the new SimConnect tool. The FS9 version will only use FSUIPC 3. So stay tuned for more info.