Weather Stations "Fill gaps in weather information" for Emergency Management Operations

 

The Chatham County Emergency Operations Center in Pittsboro, NC

MIND THE GAP: The reality is, relying on publicly available weather data doesn't get you the detailed, hyper-local information you need to make informed decisions.

Chatham County Emergency Management in North Carolina recognized this dilemma and implemented a plan to increase weather monitoring coverage.

Emergency Management Director Steve Newton described how:

"Chatham County Emergency Management (Pittsboro, NC) partnered with the county’s Emergency Communications department to install Columbia Weather’s Orion sensors on public safety radio towers to fill gaps in weather information used to inform decision making at the Emergency Operations Center.

"We installed fixed Orion Weather Monitoring Systems at radio towers in four “corners” of the county (NE, SE, SW, NW) and one centrally at the Emergency Operations Center."

A view from the ground of an Orion Weather Station mounted on the ice bridge of a radio tower located in Pittsboro, NC. It is one of a network of five fixed and two portable stations.

Steve continues: "For incident-specific weather data, we have an Orion Nomad Portable Weather Station as well as a sixth fixed Orion Weather Monitoring System mounted on solar power camera trailers.

"We can monitor all cameras simultaneously through the cloud, and for the Nomad and weather sensor equipped camera trailer we can also connect directly to the unit using the Weather Master Software."

Purchasing multiple weather stations in one order made their weather monitoring network even more cost-effective, taking advantage of CWS’s quantity discount to provide improved weather monitoring across the region.

Photos courtesy of Steve Newton / CCEM

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hurricane Milton Weather Data

Image
As Hurricane Milton makes its approach from the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida, Cloud Weather Server screenshots from a utility customer in the Keys show high wind speeds and a drop in barometric pressure. Weather conditions affect their operations and impacts decision making, as shown in a customized screen. Our thoughts are with all who are affected by this powerful storm.
Read more

Weather Station Data for Energy Forecasting in Huntington Beach

Image
  The HBEP is one of the cleanest power generation plants in California. Harnessing Weather Data for Energy Forecasting AES is a global energy company that has purchased CWS weather stations for several US project locations since 2012. Ellie Thacker, CWS Technical Sales Engineer, recently got a site tour and sends the following report: The  Huntington Beach Energy Project (HBEP) , located in Huntington Beach, California, began operation in 2020. The HBEP is an 844-megawatt power generation plant that uses a natural gas-fired, combined-cycle turbine and a simple-cycle turbine. The HBEP is one of the cleanest power generation plants in California due to its emissions control equipment. The Challenge Gas-fired turbines run more efficiently when the ambient temperature is lower. When the ambient air is colder, it is denser, which means more air can fit in the given volume that passes through the machinery. Relative humidity also affects the efficiency of the turbines. John Islas, ...
Read more

Imagine a Day Without Water 2024

Image
On October 17th, we join communities across the U.S. to recognize Imagine a Day Without Water , a day to highlight the importance of safe, accessible water—our most valuable resource. This resource wouldn't be possible without local water reclamation operations like Bloomington-Normal in Illinois. Committed to protect public health and the environment, they have won 12 Gold Peak Performance Awards from the NACWA and the 2018 Plant of the Year award from the Illinois Association of Water Pollution Control Operators. The plant relies on five Orion™ Weather Stations to monitor on-site conditions at the district’s water treatment locations for regulatory reporting. Learn more about Imagine a Day Without Water HERE Discover how on-site weather data is critical for wastewater system resiliency HERE Photos courtesy of Bloomington-Normal Reclamation District
Read more