More Sensors. More Data. Better Decisions.
In 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the University at Albany and the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services established the New York State Mesonet, a network of 126 weather stations across New York that comprise the most advanced early warning weather-detection system in the country. Each station is equipped with automated sensors that collect data on temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, snow depth and soil temperature and moisture every 5 minutes. The data are transmitted to a central facility at UAlbany, where they are quality controlled, processed into files and sent to emergency managers, utilities, ground and air transportation facilities, farms and other weather-sensitive businesses across New York for use in forecasting and decision-making.
The New York State Mesonet consists of 126 stations across the state. Each station houses a suite of automated sensors, sampling data every 3 to 30 seconds. Data are then packaged into 5 minute averages, and then transmitted in real-time to a central facility located at the University at Albany (UAlbany). At UAlbany, data from all sites are quality-controlled, and then processed into files which are then disseminated to customers for use in forecasting and decision-making.
The New York State Mesonet is designed, implemented and operated by scientists at the State University of New York at Albany with support from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
The Mesonet provides four-dimensional data and imagery of the weather, allowing more accurate, more reliable forecasts and decision-making.
Emergency managers have access to immediate weather information across urban and rural New York, making for safer, more effective disaster preparation and response.
As an “end-to-end” system, the New York State Mesonet provides a truly unique learning environment, with research activities ranging from the physical sciences (climate, micrometeorology, instrumentation, numerical weather prediction) to computer science, mathematics, economics, and sociology.
Data from the Mesonet are expected to save millions of dollars through more efficient, more cost-effective road weather mitigation, aviation services, agricultural practices, and energy production.