News : Vinton resident Hicok makes watching weather a high-tech hobby

Jason Hicok poses near his weather station in the back yard of his G Avenue home.

Hicok's weather equipment is secured to the top of a playhouse in his back yard.

Inside the house, Hicok keeps a less modern weather station on his wall.

Jason Hicok points out the wind speed on the electronic weather monitoring station in his house.

When you look at the top of the Vinton Today Web site, you see Jason Hicok's name above the weather information.

That's because Hicok, a weather hobbyist, has volunteered to share his information with Vinton Today.

When you look at the top of the playhouse in Hicok's back yard, you will see the technology that brings the weather to Hicok, and to those who get their information from him.

On a thin metal tower that rises several yards above the roof of the playhouse is mounted a variety of weather-sensing equipment.

The solar-powered unit includes wind speed and direction gauges, a rain barrel, temperature and humidity gauges, as well as devices to measure the sun's UV strength. There is also a wireless radio that transmits the information to a computer unit in Hicok's basement. That computer is connected to computers upstairs. Hicok uses those to read the weather data for himself, as well as sharing it with others.

In addition to sharing with Vinton Today readers, Hicok has followers on Twitter as well as Facebook friends who get their weather information from him.

The equipment also serves as a weather data station, keeping track of wind speed, temperatures and other information on a day-to-day basis.

Hicok, who is a computer programmer for Go Daddy at the companies new building in Hiawatha, said he has been doing the weather hobby for about 10 years.

Last year, the weather station suffered minor damage in the wind storm that damaged other parts of Vinton. Part of the tower was bent at nearly a 45 degree angle and had to be replaced.

See Hicok's weather page HERE.