The West Texas Mesonet – Why Meteorologists Need Observations

 

We all know how quickly the weather can change here in West Texas. One minute, it is sunny and calm without a cloud in sight. The next, cold winds are barreling out of the north and thunderstorms approach in the blink of an eye. With the weather changing on such a short time scale, it is important for meteorologists to know what is coming. So how do meteorologists keep track of such variable conditions? Through the power of observation.

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In the past 15 years, the science of weather forecasting has improved dramatically. These days, a majority of meteorology involves remote sensing (like the use of Doppler weather radar and satellite imagery) or numerical modeling (which is predicting the weather with computers). However, these models and computers aren’t always right. We as meteorologists need observations to make sure the computers and instruments are working correctly.

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So what do I mean by observations? If I am a forecaster here in Lubbock and the Doppler weather radar tells me it is raining in Slaton, I need something in Slaton to make sure that it is raining. That is what observations are for. Now, humans provide good, qualitative observations, but they can’t always provide quantitative observations. In other words, meteorologists can’t stand outside in every single county of Texas and count every centimeter of rain that falls. We thus have the West Texas Mesonet to do that for us.

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The West Texas Mesonet is a collection of weather stations all around West Texas. It is the result of collaboration between the Atmospheric Science program and the National Wind Institute at Texas Tech University. What started in 1999 as a single weather station grew into an array of 116 stations covering 75 counties and two time zones across the West Texas and eastern New Mexico. A lot of work goes into these stations to make sure they stay up and running, but it is well worth it. This dense network of observations recorded every minute of every day provides valuable information that benefits forecasts, research, media, and agriculture all throughout West Texas.

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Although the West Texas Mesonet provides crucial data about the constantly changing weather in Texas, no automated system can beat the human eye when it comes to severe weather. The National Weather Service has a standard for “severe” weather. If a storm has winds greater than 58 mph, hail greater than 1 inch in diameter, OR a tornado, it can officially be warned as a “severe” storm. Although weather stations like the West Texas Mesonet can measure the winds in a storm, they can’t determine the size of hail or see if the storm is producing a tornado. That is why trained storm spotters are needed in the field! Storm spotters are everyday citizens that have gone through the training provided by the National Weather Service to properly identify a severe storm. The best part about it is that anyone can become a trained spotter. You (yes you!) could help protect life and property by simply calling (or tweeting!) storm reports to the local National Weather Service office.

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So, the next time you are out enjoying the wonders of West Texas weather just remember, your own observations are needed to help forecasters inform the public when the weather over West Texas turns wild.