High School Roof Will Host A State Weather Station
East Hampton High School will soon play a part in collecting and disseminating local and statewide weather data. The East Hampton School District and the State University of New York at Albany have signed an agreement for the installation of an enhanced Early Warning Weather Detection System on the high school roof. The project, known as New York Statewide Mesonet, places equipment that collects weather data at schools, fire stations, and municipal buildings.
“From a regional perspective, the East Hampton location is excellent for providing a far eastern site in the state,” Chris Thorncroft, co-director of Mesonet and chair of SUNY Albany’s department of atmospheric and environmental science, said in an email. “Locally, the East Hampton High School site was excellent in that it had power and Ethernet readily available, as well as plenty of roof space with few obstructions. The sensors need a 360-degree unobstructed view, which the rooftop site is able to provide.”
Improved real-time weather analyses and forecasts are “expected to provide significant cost savings for transportation, aviation, energy, and agriculture,” Dr. Thorncroft said. Other partners were “exploring how to use the data to improve efficiency and lower operating costs,” he said.
Paul Rabito, who heads East Hampton High School’s science research program, said that students will be able to access data from the weather station that could be related to the study of algal blooms and fish die-offs, and that will help them hone the analytical skills they will need later in life.
“The research classes may see the most benefits, as they require an in-depth, three-year study of the student’s chosen topic, hands-on scientific research, and Ph.D. mentoring,” he said. “The wealth of relatively unstudied data available will be priceless to those students who study it, enhancing their scientific literacy, and the authenticity of their project.”
The setup requires a 20-foot-square area capable of supporting 500 pounds; school officials said the high school roof would provide it.
The equipment features a light detection and ranging sensor, called a LiDAR, which emits short pulses of laser light into the atmosphere and measures their scattering in order to observe radial wind speed and other variables. The station also includes a microwave radiometer, which collects data on temperature, humidity, and clouds, and a sun photometer, which tracks the path of the sun during the day to measure its direct radiance.
The state will pay for the utilities needed for the weather station, so no money will come from the school district.