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Weather updates available
every five minutes on the Internet
Missouri
If the winter wind seems as though it came directly from Santa's backyard, local residents can check the actual wind chill, current to within the past five minutes.
Fifteen weather factoids from the middle of Boone County are continuously updated, night and day, year around, on a new weather page on the Internet. An automated weather sensor on the University of Missouri Sanborn Field is sending the weather information.
The weather page is on the MU Agricultural Electronic Bulletin Board at: http://aes.missouri.edu/sanborn/weather/sanreal.stm.
"Real-time weather" is a new addition to the MU Commercial Agriculture weather station network, said Pat Guinan, MU Extension climatologist. "As far as I know this is the only service giving 'real-time weather' for the city of Columbia." National Weather Service updates their reports for Columbia every hour. Those observations come from the Columbia Regional Airport, 11 miles south of the city.
In addition to wind chill, the Inernet page shows temperature, wind speed and direction. Peak wind speed is also documented. For maximum and minimum temperatures, times are also recorded.
Precipitation is shown, if it is raining. "The automated weather station can't measure snow and ice," Guinan said.
For the tillers of the soil, the instrument tells soil temperatures at the two-inch and four-inch depths. That will be more useful next planting season.
Guinan has thought of many ways current weather information can be used.
Pesticide applicators can use real-time wind reports to avoid misapplication through drift.
Knowing the current wind information and humidity also will be helpful in controlled burns.
Utility companies can adjust power load to shifting temperatures.
Street and highway departments can schedule sand-and-salt crews, while people preparing to travel can check for icing conditions.
Livestock and pet owners can check conditions for their animals.
Parents can monitor weather for school children waiting for the bus.
Teachers can link to the website to help teach about weather.
Guinan thinks professional weather people also can benefit. Broadcasters now have another nearby source of current information.
And what the heck, even the National Weather Service could use some real-time help once in awhile in their surface analysis and flood forecasting, Guinan said.
The automated weather station is one of 21 in a network located mostly on agricultural research farm and centers across the state. The farms are part of the MU Agricultural Experiment Station.
By digging a little deeper on the AgEBB weather page, viewers can see a record of the weather for the year to date. The records from Sanborn Field go back to year 2000.
Elsewhere, the MU climatologist maintains an Internet archive of state weather records going back more than 100 years in many locations.
While the commercial agriculture network was established to aid farmers in planting, harvesting, and haying seasons, many others now find the information useful, Guinan said.
One of the more unusual uses is by lawyers, Guinan said. "In preparing for cases, lawyers will go back to check to see what the weather was at the time of an accident."
MU students thought enough of the project to provide a grant through activity fees in the capital improvement fund, Guinan said. "This allowed me to purchase the telecommunications equipment." AgEBB staff provided Web-programming services.
Sanborn Field is an active research plot located at the corner of College Avenue and Rollins Street on the MU campus.
Date: 1/8/04
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