Western Kentucky University has expanded its network of automated weather stations with a new weather and climate monitoring site in Russell County, near Jamestown.
The station, which includes a 33ft tower with instrumentation that measures air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation and solar radiation, will help improve weather forecasting and increase lead times for severe weather warnings in the Lake Cumberland region. The land for the site was donated by Russell County farmer John Adams.
Around 150 million observations are collected annually by the Kentucky Mesonet, with nearly 80 observation sites across the state.
Dr Jerry Brotzge, state climatologist and mesonet director, said, “These stations provide data in real time, and are archived as the climate record for Kentucky. Data are made available in real time to the National Weather Service, who in turn ingests data into their operational numerical models, thereby providing much improved weather prediction across all of Kentucky. Mesonet data are also used for issuing weather alerts and warnings.
“In addition to emergency management and agriculture, Kentucky Mesonet data are also used for aviation, ground and rail transportation; recreation and tourism; public health; energy; education; and commerce,” he added.
Last year, the Kentucky General Assembly invested US$1.75m into the Kentucky Mesonet. The additional funding will allow for all mesonet sites to soon be fitted with new webcams, with the goal of establishing at least one station in all 120 counties across the commonwealth.
