Written by Nathan Santo Domingo, Field Meteorologist, 6/6/2024

Field Team Resumes Construction

May saw an increase in Field Team activity aside from routine station maintenance. This was highlighted by the construction of a new Mesonet station in Clyde. This location filled a data gap in the western fringes of the Palouse south of the Snake River.

weather tower in a field secured by guywires, surrounded by a welded wire fence — Figure 1 Mesonet weather station in Clyde, WA.

Toward the end of May, the Field Team removed the Sunnyside Mesonet station at the request of the landowner. Unfortunately, this resulted in the loss of data at Sunnyside from May 21st until June 5th. The team worked diligently with a local landowner to promptly relocate the station. Construction of a new Mesonet station was completed on June 5th approximately one mile south of the original location.

weather tower in a field with trees along the horizon - secured by guy wires and surrounded by a welded wire fence — Figure 2 Mesonet weather station in Sunnyside, WA.

The AWN Field Team also expanded our air quality network over the last month. In addition to adding an air quality sensor at both Clyde and Sunnyside, air quality sensors were also added at College Place, Concrete, Fairfield, Hatton, Montesano, and Tumwater. To view the air quality at the station nearest to you, visit our air quality webpage.

Station Specific Weather Data Webpage Updated

In continuing with the updates to our web portal since the end of 2023, AWN is consolidating how users view and interact with weather data into one page. After you sign into your AWN user account, navigate to the menu and click the arrow next to “Weather.” Next, click the arrow next to “Station Specific,” then click on “Weather Data” to access the new page.

screenshot of weather data form — Figure 3 Station Specific Weather Data webpage.

Once you’ve successfully navigated to the webpage, you can customize your data viewing experience to what suits your needs. To select a station, you can scroll through the dropdown menu, or you can utilize our new map feature which allows you to enter your zip code to find the closest station. In the Data Intervals dropdown menu, you can select 15 Minute, Hourly, Daily, Monthly, or Yearly data. You can select your Report Type as a table or a graph. The Interval Select dropdown menu gives you preset time periods, or you can choose a custom time period using the Start Date and End Date selections. Please note: there is a 7-day maximum when viewing 15 Minute data.

Users should find the data tables to be very similar to the previous version. The data graphs, however, are much more interactive. In the legend, you can click to select or hide data based on your needs. As you hover your cursor over the graph, a text box will appear displaying the data at the selected timestamp. If you left click and hold, you can then drag your cursor to zoom in on the data of your choosing. You can also download images of graphs.

graph showing wind speed and direction at Prosser — Figure 4 Gusty winds measured in Prosser.

For questions or comments and feedback on our new Station Specific Weather Data webpage, send us an email or reach out on social media.

Weather With AWN

We will be taking a break from Weather With AWN for the summer. The plan is to resume the Weather With AWN Zoom calls in September. Keep an eye on our Events Page for more information and for other opportunities to connect with the AWN team this summer.

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.

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