WKU News

Representatives from agencies in Indiana and Ohio will visit the Kentucky Mesonet at WKU on Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 9-10) to learn more about developing weather monitoring networks in their states.

The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Mesonet Technical Meeting will be held at the Kentucky Mesonet’s new operations center at WKU’s Center for Research and Development.

Representatives from the State Climate Office of Ohio (based at Ohio State University), the Indiana State Climate Office (based at Purdue University) and the Indiana Geological and Water Survey (based at Indiana University) will attend the two-day meeting.

“Both Indiana and Ohio have small weather observing networks, but they’re interested in finding a way forward to modernize and expand their networks on a statewide scale,” said state climatologist Stuart Foster, director of the Kentucky Mesonet at WKU.

“We wanted to invite them down for a detailed engagement on the design and operation of the Kentucky Mesonet to provide them with some insights that could be useful in their efforts. We see the value the Kentucky Mesonet brings to communities across Kentucky and have gained valuable experience in building the network from the ground up beginning in 2006.”

Dr. Foster also noted that the meeting could open the door to collaborations among the state offices. “There’s more and more talk about the importance of mesonets not at the state level but at the regional level because issues tied to weather don’t stop at state boundaries,” he said.

Contact: Dr. Stuart Foster, (270) 745-5983