The following is a news release from Texas Tech University:
Texas weather can be as fickle as a bandwagon sports fan, changing its mind from one minute to the next. That unpredictability can leave people wondering why they even bother checking the weather in the morning.
To help combat this weather conundrum, Texas Tech University’s National Wind Institute (NWI) has developed the West Texas Mesonet app. The app for iOS devices was recently updated to its 2.0 version and uses information from the NWI’s current 120 West Texas Mesonet stations across West Texas, eastern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado to provide precise weather and agricultural information 24/7.
“This new edition of the app provides some new information to the user, including the calculation of heat units for cotton,” said John Schroeder, senior director of the NWI. “It represents a partnership with the Plains Cotton Growers and the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, and another step forward in our continuing effort to better serve or region.”
The app gives users easy access to information in plain language on temperature, wind speed, wind direction, wind gusts, pressure, dew point, soil temperatures, leaf wetness, cotton heat units, humidity and precipitation, along with weather maps based on the GPS location of a phone or tablet. It also provides daily and weekly weather forecasts from the National Weather Service.
The previous version of the app also received a 2018 Excellence in IT Innovation award through Texas Tech’s Office of the Chief Information Officer/Information Technology Division.
“This new app and its predecessor are great examples of how NWI has put research to work serving the needs of diverse communities throughout the State of Texas,” said Joseph Heppert, vice president for the Office of Research & Innovation. “This program provides ready access to high-quality weather data that is incredibly useful for farmers and businesses of all types.”
Other additions to the 2.0 version include relative humidity, an indication of data older than 30 minutes and more.
Download the newest version of the app for Apple iOS devices in the App Store here.
Download the West Texas Mesonet app for Android devices on Google Play here.
About the West Texas Mesonet
The West Texas Mesonet is a project under the National Wind Institute at Texas Tech University. Its first station came online at Reese Center in June 2000. Since then, the network has grown to 120 Mesonet stations and seven boundary layer SODAR (Sonic Detection and Ranging) units covering 76 counties in the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, Rolling Plains, Permian Basin, Trans Pecos, far West Texas, Concho Valley, Big Country, Edwards Plateau, Hill Country, southwestern Colorado and eastern New Mexico.
Its mission is to provide accurate meteorological data for distribution to a variety of facets in the region, including operational meteorology, agriculture and farming, research and media.
CONTACT:
John Schroeder, senior director, National Wind Institute, Texas Tech University, (806) 834-5678 orjohn.schroeder@ttu.edu
(News release from Texas Tech University)
