The use of real-time data has been shown to add a sense of excitement to the study of weather and is one of the main factors that renders meteorology a gateway science. All the educational advantages of real-time data are redoubled when that data is local in nature. We have established a dense network of weather stations in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area (METNET) that not only serves our educational mission but forms a useful supplement to the local National Weather Service data base. The weather data may be viewed live on the PRAXIS Active Weather web site (http://weatheractive.com/newyork) and is archived at the CCNY web-site, allowing staff and students to access data generated from our various school sites. Student-centered activities and laboratory investigations concentrating on local microclimates have been designed, written and included into classroom lessons and laboratory sections. Examples of student research projects are presented. They include an analysis of the effect of the sea breeze on a school's weather based upon its proximity to the ocean, and an exploration of bird migrations at they relates to local and synoptic scale weather conditions.