Backyard- Rochester,MN August 16th 2011-(Thermometer and wind gauge seen as the two white poles)

I spent the last few days moving into my aunts house where I will be staying for 2 years while I attend college. and I can say it is quite a change from the house I grew up in at my quiet hometown community of Clayton,WI. Rochester has a population just under 110,000 people and the house is located in a highly populated residential area 1 mile west of the high rise buildings in Downtown Rochester. I’m just 2 blocks from the well known St Marys Hospital building, which is more then 10 stories tall. The hospital can easily be seen from the backyard deck. I’ve already witnessed the helicopter fly several times from the helicopter pad on top of the building.

Front yard street view.

The house is located on a quiet neighborhood side street, but just down the street is a major intersection where and 2nd Street SW, meets with Highway 52, which is a very busy street into and out of Downtown. I can tell Rochester is a fast growing city, because they are in the process of making another tall building across the intersection, which was not there a month earlier! There seems to increase of development and tall buildings right around St Marys Hospital near our house which is an area known as West Downtown, because of this when I refer to my backyard station I will have it listed as “West Downtown Rochester”

Front Yard Rochester,MN August 16th 2011

Here is the front yard, it’s much smaller then my yard back at home, but not any less beautiful, especially because I spent the last 2 afternoons adding plants I brought down from Wisconsin. I can already from the last couple days that feels much hotter in a bigger city setting then at home, and not only does it “feel” hotter but it is. My newly set up weather station has been continuing to read 3-5 degrees warmer then that of the Rochester International Airport 15 miles outside of the city, even at night. This will be something I will continue to study through my time living here. I will have more area pictures and forecast posts in the days to come!