Written by Nathan Santo Domingo, Field Meteorologist, 12/7/2023
AgWeatherNet’s (AWN) building season ended as the calendar turned to November. The field team completed 18 Tier 1 Mesonet stations in 2023, three more than the year prior. Field work didn’t end completely, however. Teir 1 Legacy site Mattawa.E was removed along with Tier 2 Desert Aire. These stations were replaced with Tier 1 Mesonet site Mattawa. Tier 1 Legacy site Prosser.NE was also removed and replaced with Tier 1 Mesonet site Prosser.
AWN also continued to expand its footprint of air quality sensors with the latest installation in Naches. This brings the network total to 27. You can see the latest data by logging in to your AWN account and visiting the air quality webpage.
Tier 3 Private Network Update
The AWN Private Stations webpage has been given an overhaul to make the experience more efficient and seamless for growers. AWN does not charge for participation in this program, but does ask that all participants share their data (through AWN) with NOAA and the National Weather Service and not to share data with any public network other than AWN.
Currently, AWN has four approved stations that growers may incorporate into our Tier 3 network. The new webpage has guidance on how to best place a station on a grower’s property or other chosen location. Once a station is approved and incorporated into the Tier 3 Network, growers benefit from having site-specific access to AWN decision support tools. Data management is also provided by AWN to Tier 3 participants. The new webpage also has maintenance guidance to ensure that private stations are continuously measuring quality weather data.
Additionally, AWN is rolling out new QA/QC tools for private network participants. If AWN detects unusual data or a communications issue, an automated email alert will be sent informing the participant what sensor (or sensors) may be at fault. These alerts will be available to Tier 3 participants in January.
Login to your AWN account and visit the Private Stations page for more information.
New AWN Staff
Jaitun Patel, Data Scientist
Hailing from India, Jaitun holds a Masters in Computer Science with a specialization in Human-Computer Interaction from Virginia Tech. As a Data Scientist at AWN, her principal role involves delivering high-quality and meaningful data to stakeholders. She is passionate about leveraging design and technology for social impact. Outside of work, she loves spending time in nature and learning performing arts. Jaitun is based at AWN’s offices in Pullman.
Aakash Shrestha
From Bhaktapur, Nepal, Aakash earned his M.S. in Computer Science from Boise State University. Before pursuing his master’s, Aakash worked as a full-time software engineer. Currently, he is focused on redesigning the AgWeatherNet Web portal. Outside of work, Aakash enjoys driving. Since coming to the States, he’s also become hooked on snowboarding and is eagerly anticipating visits to ski resorts in Washington and Colorado. He hopes to explore as much of the country as possible on road trips. Aakash is based at AWN’s offices in Spokane.
Contact
Nathan Santo Domingo
Field Meteorologist, AgWeatherNet
nathan.santodomingo@wsu.edu
Funding and acknowledgements
AgWeatherNet air quality sensing and reporting is supported in part by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Learn about Air Quality Index at AirNow.gov.
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