CHARLEVOIX -- Staff at Charlevoix Elementary School keep a close watch on weather conditions during the winter.  You could even say they've got it down to a science. 

For the past 8 years, they've been relying on their very own weather station. 

Principal Dick Swenor says, "When I first came here, we had the same rule that  we do now:  a zero degree wind chill is the point when we won't let them go outside.  Back then, we had to call the weather station or somehow get that information on the windchill. It was easy enough to get the temperature, but not the windchill.  We searched for a device that would give us immediate data since the weather in Northern Michigan can change in ten minutes and we bought this weather station."

Instruments, including a thermometer and anemometer, collect data from the roof of the school.  From these sensors, information about wind speed, wind direction, and temperature are sent to a computer.  The computer calculates the wind chill and that information is displayed on a little box in the principal's office.  

Swenor says, "I have an alarm that goes off when it's below zero.  Even when I'm not at my desk, someone hears the alarm and when it goes off, we make an announcement that all recess will be inside. We are very concerned if it gets too cold. Frostbite is a serious skin condition and so it's important for the health of the kids."

Even if the temperature is well above zero, with enough wind, conditions outside can feel much colder and pose a danger to people outside as the risk of frostbite increases. 

Swenor says, "since we've used this weather station, I can't remember the last time we've had a case of frostbite."  The weather station has been in service for at least 8 years.  Swenor says the instruments may soon be used in the kids' science curriculum.