Weather watcher alert: Kansas weather data system expands
Based at Kansas State University, Kansas Mesonet adds data collection sites to a growing network.
Photo and caption available
Released: June 27, 2016
MANHATTAN, Kan. – They may look like something E.T. put together to phone home, but the surprisingly sturdy weather stations being installed around Kansas quietly detect and record precipitation, air temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and speed, and solar radiation.
The stations are part of Kansas Mesonet, an expanding network of weather stations that collect data for Kansas State University. New stations have been added in Kearny County (Lakin), Morton County (Richfield), Seward County, but near Satanta, which is in Haskell County, and Sumner County, but near Viola, which is in Sedgwick County. These are in addition to 51 existing stations.
The data collected is available to the public online at Kansas Mesonet. The information can be useful for science teachers, construction companies, farmers, gardeners, and anyone who is curious about the weather in their location or across the state.
Kansas Mesonet is located within the K-State Department of Agronomy and is part of K-State Research and Extension. It is also part of the Weather Data Library and State Climate Office with automated data extending back as far as 1985. Paper records also go back into the 1800s.
“Adding new weather stations helps us give Kansas citizens and others an ever more complete picture of weather, including trends, across the state,” said Chip Redmond, K-State assistant scientist and Kansas Mesonet manager. “We appreciate everyone in the communities who work with us to pursue funding, assist with logistics, host a station and help with maintaining them. It requires a unified effort to make these stations possible.”
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K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan.
Story by:
Mary Lou Peter
mlpeter@ksu.edu
K-State Research and Extension
For more information:
Christopher “Chip” Redmond - 785-477-6204 or christopherredmond@k-state.edu
