Written by Nathan Santo Domingo, Field Meteorologist, and Basavaraj Amogi, Natural Resource Scientist, October 5, 2023
September Recap
In September the air quality sensors within the network expanded. With 19 sensors now integrated into the network, AWN plans to reach at least 25 air quality sensors by the end of 2023. Visit the Air Quality Index page on our website.
Our team also constructed 2 new Mesonet tower stations, bringing the network total to 42. The first was completed just east of North Bend. Situated at 1500 feet in elevation, this will be a valuable station for pass travelers this winter. The following week, our team was just a few miles from the Canadian border in Northport. This is now our northernmost Mesonet station.
Using temperature inversion data from Mesonet tower stations for frost management
With 42 Mesonet stations in place, AWN is continuing its efforts to provide decision support for growers. Mesonet stations, classified as Tier 1, are meteorological towers configured to collect air temperature at 2 and 9 meters to detect low-level inversions. Inversion strength can be calculated by subtracting 2-meter air temperature from 9-meter air temperature. You can view stations equipped with a 9-meter air temperature sensor by selecting “Air Temperature @ 9m (°F)” from the drop down menu on our homepage. A side-by-side comparison is also available in the 15-minute data under the Weather Data tab on our website.
Knowing the inversion strength will help growers use wind machines effectively during frost management scenarios. Read more about frost mitigation.
Additionally, AWN is developing more decision support tools for the Spring Frost Program. Please monitor AgWeatherNet social media channels and the AgWeatherNet website for more information over the winter.
AWN to decommission three weather stations in November
AWN is postponing the decommissioning of Prosser.NE, Desert Aire, and Mattawa.E until November 1st. These stations were originally scheduled to go offline October 1st. This will provide an additional month of data for these stations and will allow our field team to focus on additional Mesonet deployments and expand our network of air quality sensors. These stations will be replaced with Mesonet stations built earlier in 2023: Prosser and Mattawa.
Contact
Nathan Santo Domingo
Field Meteorologist, AgWeatherNet
nathan.santodomingo@wsu.edu
Basavaraj Amogi
Natural Resource Scientist, AgWeatherNet
basavaraj.amogi@wsu.edu
Additional information
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Acknowledgements
AgWeatherNet air quality sensing and reporting is supported in part by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries SHIP Grant. Learn about Air Quality Index at AirNow.gov.
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