Multi-purpose weather monitor system at home in Oklahoma

Saturday, March 27th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- The May 3, 1999, tornadoes that churned a devastating swath through Central Oklahoma could have taken a much greater toll, had it not been for some life-saving decisions.

In one instance on that day, law enforcement officers in a caravan bound for the area of destruction were temporarily diverted from I-40 at Shawnee when it was determined that a tornado would cross their path.

In another, an emergency manager in Stroud was able to evacuate a large shopping mall minutes before it was destroyed by the tornado.

Both decisions were made using the Oklahoma Mesonet, an award-winning environmental monitoring system that serves as a model for other states.

The Mesonet, a network of 116 automated weather stations covering all 77 Oklahoma counties, is operated by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, based at the University of Oklahoma. The network has become a valuable tool for public safety, research, education, agricultural support and energy forecasting. (Electric utilities save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by using Mesonet data for determining power generation needs.)

March marks the 10th anniversary of Oklahoma Mesonet. In terms of preserving life and property alone, the system has more than paid for itself.

"The original idea for the Mesonet began in Stillwater at Oklahoma State University in 1982," said OCS Director Kenneth Crawford. "We had a similar idea in Norman in 1985. We discovered each other in 1986 and we've been a team ever since."

Crawford said a proposal for the Mesonet was drafted in 1988, but the real hurdle was obtaining funds for the untried concept.

"In the early years I spent a lot of time at other agencies seeking funds," Crawford said. "I went to eight state agencies, asking each to put up $25,000. Sen. Cal Hobson opened the door and we made the house calls."

Gov. Henry Bellmon helped raise the awareness of what the Mesonet could do in Oklahoma and spearheaded the drive to find the $2 million in state funds needed to get the program under way, Crawford said. "We were funded by oil overcharge funds in 1991, and the two universities added $700,000. The $2.7 million bought $1 million worth of sensors, about $500,000 in needed equipment and three years of human talent."

Besides aiding agriculture and public safety in every county, the Mesonet brings "EarthStorm," a weather education program, to hundreds of classrooms in the state. "We're doing something for everyone in Oklahoma," said OCS administrative manager Cerry Leffler.

"Initially, the Mesonet was intended for agriculture and meteorology-related research at all levels," said Mesonet manager Chris Fiebrich. "A basic tower had a rain gauge, thermometer, barometer, wind speed and direction instruments at 10 meters and wind speed at 2 meters above the ground, solar radiation and soil temperature sensors. Over the years we've enhanced that."

Later, instruments were added to measure soil moisture and other sensors to determine the "flux" of heat and moisture between earth and the atmosphere a component of long-term weather forecasting.

Each Mesonet station operates on solar energy and transmits data every 15 minutes to local law enforcement offices. Data is relayed immediately to the OCS, where they are checked and processed for thousands of customers.

Quality data depends on accurate instruments. The Mesonet staff travels 120,000 miles a year to maintain the Mesonet sites. Onsite maintenance and replacement is done at least three times a year at each location. The system's more than 4,000 sensors are calibrated on a regular basis in the Mesonet lab at OCS/OU.

A unique set of sensors was installed at 89 Mesonet sites to provide data for studying the transfer of energy and radiation between the ground and the atmosphere.

"We've also put sensors out for several temporary projects," said Jeff Basara, OCS Director of Research. "Our best example was the I-40 bridge collapse at Webbers Falls on Memorial Day, 2002."

Within 48 hours of the collapse, the Mesonet installed a temporary station at the bridge site to measure the temperature of the air, which determines how quickly concrete will cure. That enabled the contractor to work 24 hours a day. The new bridge was completed in only seven weeks. It resulted in substantial savings to the state and a bonus for the contractor.

The Mesonet has aided other special projects conducted by the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation.

In July of last year, the Mesonet provided base data and sensors to aid more than 200 scientists and technicians from around the world with the "Joint Urban 2003 Dispersion Project" in downtown Oklahoma City.

The $6 million indoor and outdoor dispersion project was staged to determine wind patterns in urban areas. The results have the potential of protecting life, should deadly materials ever be released in cities.

Mesonet sensors also are being used to obtain basic weather information for a project to monitor the influence of clouds on the climate of Oklahoma and Kansas.

In Western and Northwestern Oklahoma, the National Science Foundation is using Mesonet data in the International H2O Project to study water evaporation patterns under various conditions.

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has contracted with OCS to measure ground water levels at three Mesonet sites, with hopes of expanding the study to 25 sites.

And in the infamous Tar Creek region of Northeastern Oklahoma, the OU College of Engineering is using Mesonet sensors to monitor the environment and determine the airborne transport of contaminants at the study site.

The Mesonet also monitors severe weather and provides data for enhanced weather forecasting. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service rank the Mesonet second only to the WSR-88D Next Generation Radar system for obtaining accurate, up-to-the-minute weather data.

Providing quality data in real time is what sets the Mesonet apart and makes it attractive to researchers.

"We collect a million observations a day in Oklahoma," Fiebrich said.

Because of the Mesonet's quality data, many states and several countries have asked us to help establish their own networks," Basara said.

The Canadian province of Quebec has hired OCS to design software for its climate monitoring system. "Replicating our system for Quebec has been a source of revenue for us," Crawford said.

The OCS has trained personnel from more than 150 Oklahoma public safety agencies to use the Mesonet to guide their decisions in dealing with fires, floods, severe storms and even chemical spills. Known as "OK-FIRST," this was the program that prompted Herb Gunter, the civil defense director in Seminole, to warn the caravan of law enforcement officers of a tornado that would cross I-40 on May 3, 1999.

And OK-FIRST helped a trained emergency manager evacuate Tanger Mall in Stroud. Just 45 minutes later, a tornado roared through the mall, destroying or damaging everything in its path.

"People are amazed at the quality of the project and what it costs," Crawford said... "The National Weather Service wants to develop a national Mesonet to replicate the Oklahoma model in all other states."