West Texas Mesonet – Texas Tech University
www.mesonet.ttu.edu
TTU Wind Science & Engineering
www.wind.ttu.edu
Atmospheric Science Group
www.atmo.ttu.edu
INTRODUCTION
The West Texas Mesonet project was initiated in 1999 to provide free real-time weather and
agricultural information for residents of the South Plains region of western Texas. The
network has grown to include fifty-five surface meteorological stations, one radar wind
profiler, one acoustic wind profiler, and one upper-air sounding system. Our newest station
was just completed near St. Lawrence, Texas.
Weather information from each surface station is transmitted every five minutes back to our
base station at Reese Center (12 miles west of Lubbock). Agricultural data (including soil
temperature and moisture information) are transmitted every fifteen minutes. All real-time
data collected from the surface stations are available on our main web page at
www.mesonet.ttu.edu.
55 mesonet stations…..in 37 counties…..in two states…..in two time zones……and
looking to expand!
West Texas Mesonet – Map
55 Completed Stations – 1/23/2009
West Texas Mesonet – Map
Site Photo
Memphis 1 mile Northeast Station – Hall County
Site Photo
Goodlett 3 miles West Station – Hardeman County
Site Photo
Childress 2 miles NNE Station – Childress County
Instrumentation
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The following data are collected at each mesonet station every 5 minutes:
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10-meter wind speed and direction (average and 3-second peak wind speed)
9-meter temperature (for heat flux study)
2-meter wind speed
2-meter temperature (for heat flux study)
1.5-meter temperature and relative humidity (including dewpoint calculation)
barometric pressure (using digital barometer: calculations include station pressure and
altimeter)
rainfall (total for the 5-minute period and an hourly summation product)
2-meter solar radiation (Kipp and Zonen SP-Lite, CM-3, and CM-21; Apogee PYR-P)
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Instrumentation
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following data are collected at most mesonet stations every 15 minutes:
Soil Temperature
at 5cm (~2 inches) under sod-covered ground
Soil Temperature
at 10cm (~4 inches) under sod-covered ground
Soil Temperature
at 20cm (~8 inches) under sod-covered ground
Soil Temperature
at 5cm (~2 inches) for bare ground
Soil Temperature
at 20cm (~8 inches) for bare ground
Soil
Moisture at 5cm (~2 inches)
Soil
Moisture at 20cm (~8 inches)
Soil
Moisture at 60cm (~24 inches)
Soil
Moisture at 75cm (~30 inches)
Leaf
Wetness
(all of these are sod-covered ground)
Instrumentation
Fluvanna 3W WTM Station
Communications
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Radio: We use an extended line of
sight (ELOS) radio system to transmit
data packets from our remote stations to
our base station at Reese Center.
Cell Phone: Used in remote areas which
are generally east of Lubbock.
Landline Phone: Partnership stations
with NWS Lubbock.
DSL/Cable modem: Used at a few
stations where local city provides
internet.
Wireless Internet: Wireless internet at
station…all equipment contained at
station.
Internet: Spread spectrum radio
transmissions from mesonet station to
wherever internet is available (e.g.,
courthouse, school, private residence).
Our server is located at that location for
internet access.
Power Requirements
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All stations use solar panels to charge
external batteries. There is no
electricity at any station.
Each radio station has one 100-watt
radio for communications. The power
required to run each radio varies
significantly with each site.
Most sites use two 20-watt solar panels
to charge two deep-cycle gel type
marine batteries. The majority of
newer stations use one 50-watt panel.
Several of our major radio repeater
stations use two 50-watt solar panels to
charge three batteries.
Each datalogger has a backup set of
internal batteries to save data in case of
a major failure in the marine batteries.
Web Products
Web Products
Web Products
Web Products
Program Written by John Lipe, NWS Lubbock
Web Products
Web Products
Courtesy: Matt Haugland - OU
Web Products
Surface Plots
Web Products
Wind Roses
Web Products
Rainfall Map
Users/Importance
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Users:
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Agriculture
Wind Power Industry
National Weather Service
Media Outlets
And Many More….
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Schools
Community Leaders
Emergency Management
General Public
Real-time Data Access: Real-time mesonet information (data and products) is free to anyone
on the web page at www.mesonet.ttu.edu .
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Average web hits per day: 41,000
For the month of June 2008: 2.1 million hits…71,000 hits/day…38.8 GB bandwidth…9400
unique visitors.
Peak one-day total: 156,946 (as of 9/12/2008)
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Maintenance: Each station is visited every two months to complete routine maintenance.
When an instrument fails, we replace it as soon as possible. If a station is not sending quality
data, it is not helping anyone.
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Funding: The funding to maintain the West Texas Mesonet has almost exclusively been
provided by Texas Tech University, although we are pursuing other opportunities to support
maintenance and continued expansion of the network.
NWS Lubbock Partnership
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The West Texas Mesonet and the NWS Lubbock office share a unique relationship.
The West Texas Mesonet provides high quality meteorological and agricultural
information to a region with otherwise sparse data sources. The NWS Lubbock relays
WTM data to the media and surrounding community through warnings, forecasts, local
storm statements, and other reports.
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The NWS Lubbock, in conjunction with Southern Region Headquarters, helps with the
communication costs at many stations in the WTM domain. Currently, there are seven
stations on phone lines that would not be sending real-time data without this help.
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We look forward to a continuing partnership with the National Weather Service as we
expand the West Texas Mesonet into other regions and additional NWS County
Warning Areas.
West Texas Mesonet New Products
Macy Ranch WTM Station: Double Mountain Fork of The
Brazos River in Southwest Garza County….
New Products Coming to the Mesonet Web Page:
Heat Units for Different Crops…
GIS Plots of Rain, Temperature, And Other Data…
West Texas Mesonet New Products
WTM Station One mile
Northwest of Lake Alan
Henry In Eastern Garza
County
What products do
you want to see on
the web page????
West Texas Mesonet Expansion
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Expansion of West Texas Mesonet?
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Location
Real-time Communications
Maintenance/Quality Data
Data Access
Other Possibilities?
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Integration of New Sensors
Development of New Data Products
Event Notification
Increasing Sampling/Reporting Rates
West Texas Mesonet - Animals
West Texas Mesonet
Contact Information
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Dr. John Schroeder – John.Schroeder@ttu.edu
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Wesley Burgett – Wesley.Burgett@ttu.edu
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Brian Hirth – Brian.Hirth@ttu.edu
www.mesonet.ttu.edu