Wasn't sure where to post this, but since there was an item about being able to send data to WWL thought I would post here.

I'm curious about the backyard weather monitoring and what is actually required to participate. Even the least expensive of the weather stations is not cheap, but it isn't clear what other requirements need to be met. Does the software come with the station? Does your computer need to be located in some way to receive the data, or is there additional hardware required? While the center of my backyard is open it is surrounded by trees and of course the house. Does that make the data less reliable?

Check out WeatherBug's Backyard Weather Station FAQ at the following link:
http://weather.weatherbug.com/support/backyard-stations.html

All compatible weather stations transmit weather data from your weather station to a console. It's best to get a wireless setup. The console plugs into a computer -- which is running software to transmit your weather data to WeatherBug. Their freeware software is compatible with Davis weather stations.

No special hardware is required. I have my weather station console hooked up to a Fujitsu Stylistic LT C-500 tablet PC. The computer you choose to use has to be running 24-7, so I chose to use something that I could run undisturbed.

It's best to install the weather station in a wide open area. In your case, the wind reading would probably be skewed due to the surroundings. You could extend the wind gauge up on a pole or install it on top of your house.