LUBBOCK, Texas– Texas Tech’s National Wind Institute (NWI) unveiled its West Texas Mesonet site number 150 on Lubbock Christian University’s campus on Thursday. WTM said each Mesonet station monitors everything from wind gusts and temperatures to soil moisture and leaf wetness.
John Schroeder, senior director of the National Wind Institute, said this kind of technology has done so much more than meteorologists. The first Mesonate station was installed at the Reese Technology Center in 2000.
“We went from an era where there was very little weather information to now or an era where there’s quite a bit because of the Mezonet,” Schroeder said. “That feeds into all sorts of decision making, whether you’re a farmer trying to decide when to plant or irrigate or spray, or whether you’re a meteorologist and you’re trying to make watches and warnings to help the general public.”
LCU president Scott McDowell said he’s grateful the school has the opportunity to have the newest Mesonet on their campus.
“I think it’s about knowing what’s going on and being able to sound warnings and you know the whole network works together, So the 150th it’s significant because each piece builds on the other piece,” McDowell said.
Weather Mesonet sites collect and update data every minute. For soil temperatures for natural and bare sod, soil moisture, and leaf wetness, the website updates every 15 minutes, for anyone to track.
This event also makes West Texas Mesonet the largest state-run Mesonet in the US. Data from all 150 Mesonet stations is available online at West Texas Mesonet (ttu.edu).
