Tuesday, March 17, 2009

More towers designed to collect weather information are being added in underrepresented parts of Kansas.

The 14 new towers are planned as part of the comprehensive automated weather monitoring project called Kansas Mesonet.

Already, five towers are up and running in Clay, Washington, Osborne, Mitchell and Miami counties. A Web site is being used to disseminate information that is collected to farmers, ranchers, homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts.

State Climatologist Mary Knapp says, "The goal is to locate underrepresented sites for weather collection particularly in north-central areas and the Flint Hills of south-central and southeastern Kansas."

The towers record air temperature and relative humidity, wind direction and speed, solar radiation, total precipitation, and soil temperature and moisture at five different depths.