Jun 10, 2009 6:42 pm US/Eastern
New Hurricane Network Expands To Mass. Coast
SCITUATE (WBZ) ―
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The instrumentation on top of the tower collects data on wind speed and direction, temperature, pressure, and humidity and runs on solar power and batteries.
WBZ
When Hurricane Ike made landfall last September, almost all instruments failed except for a new network of towers, built to withstand the full force of nature. This new hurricane network has now expanded to our coast, including a tower rigged with instruments earlier Wednesday in Scituate.
Located on First Cliff at the entrance to the harbor, the concrete tower resembles a telephone pole, but is topped with weather instruments at a standard meteorological height of 33 feet.
"This station in Scituate is the northernmost in a network of 100 sites that stretch down the east coast to the Florida Keys and along the Gulf Coast to Corpus Christie, Texas," said David Morris, Hurricane Network Coordinator for the private weather company in charge called
WeatherFlow.
The instrumentation on top of the tower collects data on wind speed and direction, temperature, pressure, and humidity and runs on solar power and batteries.
"The anemometer is able to manage minor debris hits and is coated in a material that is able to withstand moderate icing," said Morris. "The stations south of New Jersey dont have this issue and a different anemometer is used."
Real time data is collected every 3 seconds and transmitted every 15 minutes using cell phone infrastructure. In the event of extreme weather, if communications fail, the instruments carry on recording data for several days.
"The damage caused by hurricanes is an inexact science, as you know," said Morris.
And part of that is the lack of data at landfall because most instruments fail in extreme conditions. Utility companies and hurricane insurers need more information and so WeatherFlow developed and installed the network, to be fully completed within the next week.
"By applying this data from these stations we will be able to improve the science and decrease the error," Morris added.
"On a local level, all the data from the stations is made freely available to emergency management groups from police to fire," said Morris.
Harbor users and local residents have also been given access.
"We have many weather stations in Scituate but none of them are hurricane hardened like this," said Vin Kalishes, a representative from the town, at work on many fronts including efforts on a new coastal inundation study. "This tower is a welcome addition to the community. Everyone was for it."
The Scituate instrumentation was installed by meteorologist Brian Conrad and oceanographer Jeff Johnson. One of three installs on the agenda today.
"I'm sure the neighbors are curious," I asked Conrad. "Actually everyone around here seems to be pleased with the tower. This place is run by weather, so locals want to know what's going on at all times."
There are lots of interested parties from the National Hurricane Center to the Department of Defense.
Besides the new install in Scituate, there are five instrument towers operating on our coastline. One is located in Eastham on the Cape, another on the harbor in Vineyard Haven, one is just off the coast of Fairhaven on a small island in Buzzards Bay, and the final one is in a cranberry bog in Taunton. There are also two other instrument towers in Rhode Island.
Learn more about WeatherFlow
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