West Texas Mesonet – Texas Tech University TTU Wind Science & Engineering Atmospheric Science Group

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 seventy surface meteorological stations, one radar wind profiler, four boundary-layer SODAR’s, and one upper-air sounding system. Our newest station was just completed in Sterling County, Texas (Sterling City). 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 mesonet stations…..in 49 counties…..in two states…..in two time zones…

West Texas Mesonet – Map 70 Completed Stations – 11/13/12

Site Photo Bootleg 11WNW – Deaf Smith County

Instrumentation  The following data are collected at each mesonet station every one to five minutes depending on the datalogger at each station:  10-meter wind speed and direction (average and 3-second peak wind speed)  9-meter temperature  20 ft wind speed (fire weather) and 2-meter wind speed  2-meter temperature  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-Lite2 and CM-3)

Instrumentation  The 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) (all of these are sod-covered ground)  Soil Moisture at 20cm (~8 inches)  Soil Moisture at 60cm (~24 inches)  Soil Moisture at 75cm (~30 inches)  Leaf Wetness

Instrumentation Fluvanna 3W WTM Station

West Texas Mesonet – SODAR Map

WTM SCINTEC SODARS Hereford Airport

WTM SCINTEC SODARS - Information  3-D wind speed and direction and turbulence characteristics of the boundary layer  Max Height – will vary between meters above ground level (AGL)  Min Height – 30-meters AGL  Averaging time – every 10 minutes  Bin Spacing – every 10 meters  Web Update Frequency – every 30 minutes at :15 and :45 after the hour  Purpose: Long-term study of low-level jet structure in eastern NM and West TX

WTM SCINTEC SODARS – Low-Level Jet

West Texas Mesonet Expansion  Expansion of West Texas Mesonet?  Location  SODAR  Real-time Communications  Maintenance/Quality Data  Data Access  Other Possibilities?  Integration of New Sensors  Development of New Data Products  Event Notification  Increasing Sampling/Reporting Rates CG Lightning Strike near Aspermont, TX – June 12, 2005 – Photo: BCM

West Texas Mesonet/TTU WISE Contact Information Dr. John Schroeder – TTU WISE  Wes Burgett – WTM  Dr. Brian Hirth – TTU WISE 