AgWeatherNet A Tool for Making Decisions Based on Weather Gerrit Hoogenboom Director, AgWeatherNet & Professor of Agrometeorology Washington State University Prosser, Washington November 14, 2013 Washington State Grape Society Grandview, Washington
Weather in the News NPR, November 7, 2013
Weather in the News Tri-City Herald, Dec 6, 2010 rly freeze worries Columbia Valley grape growers An early freeze closing out what already was one of the industry's toughest years has many Columbia Valley wine grape growers wondering how much fruit they'll be harvesting in 2011.
Weather in the News WSU, Nov 13, 2013
Winter Outlook Weather and Agriculture Weather has an important impact on agriculture, both crop and animal production. For dryland agriculture more than 90% of the variability in growth can be explained by weather conditions.
Winter Outlook Weather and Agriculture Providing weather data, advisories, weather data products and decision support systems to managers could help improve production and product quality, optimize resource use and reduce environmental impact.
Winter Outlook Who provides weather data? NOAA National Weather Service Various other federal agencies (USGS, BLM, USFS) Weather Channel Intellicast.com/Weather Services International (WSI) Other commercial providers (DTN, AWIS, AccuWeather) Local television stations Local radio stations
Why should the College of gricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University collect weather data? American citizens Forecasts Watches Warnings Federal aviation No agriculture 1996 Farm Bill
Winter Outlook National Weather Service ooperative Weather Station Network Volunteer data collection network Limited set of data (temperature and rainfall) Approximately 85 stations in Georgia Approximately 100+ stations in Washington Long term records Data collected by the City of Prosser since 1912
City of Prosser, July, 1925
ity of Prosser: December, 2010
National Weather Service Weather Stations at Airports Automated weather stations Extended set of variables Limited number of locations, restricted to mainly large cities and/or airports: Seattle, Spokane, Tri Cities, Yakima, Portland, etc. Exposure problems due to buildings, tarmac, runways, etc.
Weather Data Collection Why should a university program collect weather data? Agricultural & environmental weather variables Remote locations Data logging frequency Easy access to data Immediate access to data Free access to data for users
Winter Outlook AgWeatherNet ashington Public Agricultural her System (PAWS) First station installed in 1988 eathernet Network upgraded in 2006 145 automated weather tions in Washington 4 stations in Oregon SDA ARS) 1 additional station
Winter Outlook AgWeatherNet Weather Variables Air Temperature Relative Humidity [Dew point temperature] Soil Temperature at 8 in Rainfall Wind Speed Wind Direction Solar Radiation Leaf wetness
Winter Outlook AgWeatherNet Weather Variables To be considered Soil temperature at 2 and 4 inches or deeper depths Soil moisture Barometric pressure Precipitation (snow) Others
Winter Outlook AgWeatherNet
Washington Concord Grape Research Council Grandview August, 2012
uality Control & Maintenance Visit each site 3 times per year (Spring, Summer and Fall) Visit a site immediately in case of emergencies Replace sensor parts every 18 to 24 months: wind speed = bearings, reed switch wind direction and pan evaporation = replace potentiometer as needed In house calibration
Satellite Current Conditions Weather Station Climate Data FTP Transfer Internet Water Balance
Weather Data Dissemination Information Technology World Wide Web http://www.weather.wsu.edu http://weather.wsu.edu/mobile Push technology
Weather Data Dissemination
AgWeatherNet Mobile
gweathernet Irrigation Scheduler
AgWeatherNet News
AgWeatherNet Weather Outlook
AgWeatherNet Push Technology
AgWeatherNet Frost Risk
AgWeatherNet Warnings
AgWeatherNet Warnings
AgWeatherNet Alerts Temperature, Wind and Rainfall
Winter Outlook Cherries & Rain
Winter Outlook Grape Cold Hardiness Model
Winter Outlook Grape Cold Hardiness 2012-2013
Winter Outlook Growing Degree Days
Winter Outlook Growing Degree Days
Winter Outlook Grapevine Bunch Rot
Climate Outlook Climate Outlook According to the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), slightly below average temperatures are expected in the east during November, along with near average precipitation statewide. During the winter season, there are no clear signals to suggest large departures from normal conditions. ENSO Neutral conditions are likely to persist into the spring.
ther and Modeling: Crop and Pest Prediction Current Weather Weather Prediction Climate Prediction Crop/Pest/Disease Model Bud Break Flowering Harvest Maturity
Summary www.weather.wsu.edu www.weather.wsu.edu/mobile Gerrit.Hoogenboom@wsu.edu Phone: 509 786 9371 AgWeatherNet can provide: Past and current weather conditions Various weather based tools, models and decision aids
Summary www.weather.wsu.edu www.weather.wsu.edu/mobile Gerrit.Hoogenboom@wsu.edu AgWeatherNet dissemination Web based Hand held devices Push technology, such as alerts and warnings
Thank you