Commonwealth of Kentucky NASCIO Recognition Awards Nomination. Category: Data, Information and Knowledge Management.

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1 Commonwealth of Kentucky 2010 NASCIO Recognition Awards Nomination Category: Data, Information and Knowledge Management Kentucky Mesonet Submitted by: Commonwealth Office of Technology

2 Executive Summary The Kentucky Mesonet is a high density network of automated meteorological and climatological sensing stations deployed across the commonwealth. Established as the official source of climatological observations through joint resolution by the state legislature, the network is directed by the state climatologist at the Kentucky Climate Center (KCC), Western Kentucky University (WKU). It is operated in partnership with seven other higher education institutions Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Louisville who, lead by WKU, compose the Kentucky Mesonet Consortium. Funding for network construction and initial operation was provided via federal earmarks secured by U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and direct grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Instruments at network sites routinely measure precipitation, air temperature (1.5 m), relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed & direction (10 m), and wetness (precip. indicator). Data are recorded by network sites every 5 minutes and are transmitted to KCC at least once every 15 minutes. After establishing its first site just south of Bowling Green in May, 2007, the Mesonet has grown quickly, with sites online today.

3 Description Though intended to be a dual-use network capable of supporting longer-term climatological research, the Kentucky Mesonet s computing and communications infrastructure has been largely designed around the need to support local meteorological observations in critical situations. Therefore, all aspects of the network s computing and communications technology have been, within budgetary constraints, architected to perform on a mission-critical basis. In the last three years, nineteen core or ancillary IT systems have been developed, including a robust enterprise-grade communications solution; site survey, metadata, and observational database storage systems; availability assurance mechanisms; and an automated quality control system. An enterprise-class, cellular-based communications method implemented with AT&T has provided an average monitoring site uptime availability of at least % over the last year, which is certainly respectable considering emerging national uptime standards are 98% for even the best networks. Choice of co-location internet provider, server technology, and implementation approach has yielded a network availability percentage of % for that same period, including planned maintenance downtime. The Mesonet thus far has made a substantial contribution to operational and research meteorology and climatology by collecting, storing, handling, and distributing over 5 million five-minute observations containing over 100 million individual meteorological measurements. With some coverage from stations in neighboring states, prior to the establishment of the Kentucky Mesonet surface weather data of substantial research and operational quality were widely distributed and easily available from only 18 monitoring sites in the state, most of which are Automated Surface Observing Stations (ASOS). Thus, the Mesonet has to date effectively tripled the number of high quality sites in Kentucky and promises a six-fold increase when full deployment (a total of 100 sites) is realized. Of note is that the Mesonet has also substantially improved the timeliness of Kentucky s routinely available meteorological data from once per hour with ASOS sites to at least four times per hour at Mesonet stations. Mesonet data are available in near real-time every 5 minutes during active weather situations. Significance As a flexible, scalable, near-real-time environmental monitoring infrastructure, the Kentucky Mesonet aids several important policy goals of state leaders, including the Governor s vision to coordinate a system of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery to protect Kentuckians and the Commonwealth Office of Technology s (COT) goal to provide high quality, timely, and innovative technological solutions. The Commonwealth Office of Technology s own COT s website has recently featured an article on the Mesonet that was carried in the November-December edition of Techlines. As the Mesonet Lead Systems Architect said in that article, The Kentucky Mesonet and the collaboration with COT is actually a shining example of how different agencies at different levels can work to achieve something great for the people of Kentucky. Those thoughts were echoed by Kent Anness, Geographic Information Systems Manager for the state s Division of Geographic Information (DGI), when he

4 said the first time I saw the Kentucky Mesonet website I knew we had to find a way to incorporate this data into our applications. Having this type of data at the fingertips of first responders is essential, and making it available to the citizens of the state is just icing on the cake. The Kentucky Mesonet developed a GeoRSS-based data feed for DGI s Kentucky Event Mapping and Analysis Portal (KEMAP) and the related Kentucky Weather Mapping application. Available on-line and now based on Adobe s Flash and Flex technology, KEMAP allows critical state government agencies to display Mesonet data alongside layers representing critical infrastructure, such as oil & gas pipelines and electric utility transmission information. This marriage of critical information promises to be invaluable to KEMAP users, which include the Kentucky National Guard, Emergency Management, State Police, Homeland Security, and other entities. A similar public tool, the Kentucky Weather Mapping application, has been stripped of KEMAP s restricted datasets but still includes many useful layers such as political boundaries, transportation, topography, and aerial photography. In addition to Mesonet weather data, the application includes NWS rada r radar data & severe weather warnings, traffic webcams from a variety of applications, and Kentucky 511 road condition and construction alerts. Benefit To be the most worthwhile, the efforts of a meteorological sensing network must benefit the people of the area it serves. The citizens of Kentucky currently benefit from the network through direct access to data on the official Mesonet website, through data use by broadcasters during regular newscasts several times each day or times of inclement weather, and through National Weather Service use of data in their official forecast, advisory, and warning products. The Kentucky Mesonet website is the main channel by which the general public accesses and uses network data. Website usage is certainly on the rise, as 2.2 million of the total 7.6 million viewed pages occurred in the four month period ending February, The site, of course, overviews the network and provides details on instrumentation, network quality, etc., but its focus is to provide both near real-time data and summary statistics for all Mesonet locations. The front page includes a clickable map with which users can choose a site for display in the blue box of current observations. The weather variable displayed on the map is changeable via the menu underneath it. Meteograms, or weather graphs, for each site are available from the Live Graphs page and depict temperature, dewpoint, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed & direction, and precipitation. The latest 24 hours of observations are also avai lable available in tabular form from the Live Data page. The Historical Data function provides a monthly statistical summary for each site. Recognizing the unique ability of broadcast media to reach and benefit the citizens of Kentucky, the Mesonet maintains data usage agreements with television stations in multiple broadcast markets, including Lexington, Bowling Green, and Evansville, Ind..

5 Partners in the broadcast industry receive feeds of data, developed in close cooperation with the broadcasters and their weather display vendors, which are directly importable into their weather display systems. A critical way in which network data benefit the public is through their use by the National Weather Service (NWS). Each NWS office serving Kentucky has access to specialized data feeds which can be used in the Service s principal computer system, the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System. Widespread usage of network data by NWS personnel is evidenced by direct references in official NWS products and bulletins, including those related to routine forecasting and warning operations. While inclusion of examples would well exceed the word limit, some quotes from NWS officials illustrate the Mesonet s benefit: I wanted to make you aware of how invaluable the Kentucky Mesonet data [have] been during our major winter storm over the past 36 hours. The wind data from the Mesonet stations allowed us to provide better forecasts and services to the taxpayers. Meteorologist-in-Charge, NWS. We re getting really good rainfall reports and that helps us in making flash flood warnings. The Mesonet data is beneficial to everyone in Kentucky. It s a win-win for everybody. Meteorologist-in-Charge, NWS. The Mesonet sites and your active monitoring/relay into the NWSChat room was a TREMENDOUS help during the event. I can t wait for the day you have all 100+ up and running! Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS. Research use of Mesonet data is also benefiting Kentucky. A current study with the NWS office in Jackson is using both Mesonet and ASOS data to better understand the setup and destruction of ridge/valley temperature splits during which valley locations see temperatures plummet compared to nearby ridge tops. Agriculture is an important part of Kentucky s economy and meteorlogical data are critical to farmers and growers in their day-to-day decision making. The agriculture community in the Commonwealth is benefiting not only from direct use of Mesonet data but also from other technologies those data support. For instance, both the University of Kentucky Agricultural Weather Center and the Fusarium Head Blight Prediction Center incorporate Mesonet data into their predictive models of crop disease. Mesonet data have also been frequently used by private industry to demonstrate the effectiveness of irrigation products. Mesonet data have been used in road transport related issues including accident assessments and are also being actively used in K-12 education outreach activities. The network s website provides freely accessible lesson plans for educators. Agriculture is an important part of Kentucky s economy and meteorological data can be critical to farmers and growers. Mesonet data, therefore, are provided to both the

6 University of Kentucky Agricultural Weather Center and the Fusarium Head Blight Prediction Center for use in researching and operating predictive models of crop disease. Research use of Mesonet data is also benefiting Kentucky. Network data are being studied in higher education settings as well as in national research centers. A current study with the NWS office in Jackson is using both Mesonet and ASOS data to better understand the setup and destruction of ridge/valley temperature splits during which valley locations see temperatures plummet compared to nearby ridge tops. The support of local stakeholders is testimony to the public s belief in the benefits of the Kentucky Mesonet. Local officials and private property owners across the Commonwealth have been heavily involved in efforts to identify and construct Mesonet sites that meet rigorous scientific monitoring criteria while providing the greatest possible benefit to local communities.