BLACKSBURG, Va. – As technology and interest in weather continue to grow, you can help Your Local Weather Authority and the National Weather Service (NWS) by registering your personal weather station.
The coverage of weather stations in our forecast area has increased by 35% in just three years, thanks to the Virginia Tech Mesonet Project.
Students at the university have partnered with the NWS office in Blacksburg to help fill in coverage gaps with weather stations in our region.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Buy or use an existing weather station
Meteorologists then will be able to use your weather data to help our forecasts.
“I’ve reached out to people, local governments, that have weather stations that have been really enthusiastic about sharing their data with us,” said VT meteorology student Brigit Keating. “There’s a lot of everyday people that are super interested in the weather that love what we do and want to get involved.”
While our forecast area surpassed the 100 weather station threshold in April, more volunteers are still needed.
There are resources from the NWS on how to properly site and expose your weather station to the elements, so you’re getting the most accurate temperature and precipitation readings.