Weather Data: Virtual, In-Field, or Regional Network—Does It Matter?
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The document discusses the relevance of various weather data sources, specifically comparing virtual weather stations to traditional in-field networks. It highlights the implications for agricultural practices, particularly in pest management and microclimate monitoring. Key findings indicate that virtual stations may not reliably replace real stations for critical real-time data like frost prediction.
Weather Data: Virtual, In-Field, or Regional Network—Does It Matter?
- 2. WEATHER DATA VIRTUAL, IN-FIELD, OR REGIONAL NETWORK—DOES IT MATTER? Dave Brown, PhD METER Group, Inc. USA
- 3. DOES IT MATTER? WHAT USE? WHAT CROP? 3 Integrated Pest Management Crop Models Irrigation Frost Pesticide Drift Labor Management
- 5. GLOBAL MODELS NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION 5 Mathematical modeling of atmospheric physics • Forecast models @ time zero Multiple governmental models • Fundamentally NOT site-specific Derivative commercial grid products • Ensemble methods (combining models) • Statistical/Interpolation methods “Virtual” Weather Stations
- 6. WEATHER STATION NETWORKS MESONETS+ 6 Monitor regional weather • Open, level, unobstructed area with grass cover Long-term record • Standard configuration, high-quality measurements Not intended to monitor microclimate!
- 7. SITE-SPECIFIC STATION MICROCLIMATE + MANAGEMENT 7
- 8. ORCHARD EFFECTS Zagrodnik, Brown, Kalcsits, & Khot (2020-2023) 8 4 high-density apple orchards Average paired in-out difference
- 9. SITE-SPECIFIC STATION OUTSIDE CANOPY? 9 Key outside measurements • Wind – drift regulations • Evapotranspiration Wear and tear Reference for management effects Train site-specific forecast!
- 10. GDD COMPARISON 10 0 days 5 days 8 days 15 days
- 12. VIRTUAL VS. REAL STATION AgWeatherNet COMPARISON 12 156 Weather Stations, 2012-2020 • Duplicate air temperature sensors Daily high and low air temperature comparison • N = 445,102 daily comparisons Zagrodnik and Brown, 2020 https://extension.wsu.edu/wam/can-virtual-weather-stations-replace-real-weather-stations
- 13. VIRTUAL VS. REAL STATION DAILY HIGH/LOW COMPARISON 13 Virtual station not good if accurate real-time air temperature is required • e.g., frost, pollen tube, etc.
- 14. VIRTUAL VS. REAL STATION SYSTEMATIC SITE BIAS 14 Individual sites can be systematically off by a substantial amount
- 15. VIRTUAL VS. REAL STATION SITE BIAS STABILITY 15 Virtual biases can change from year to year
- 16. VIRTUAL VS. REAL STATION GDD BASE 50°F 16 1248 Station-Years 74% of sites had a 5+ day miss at least once in 8 years
- 17. VIRTUAL WEATHER DATA 17 How do growers “correct” weather data?
- 18. VIRTUAL + WEATHER STATIONS 18
- 19. QUESTIONS? Dave Brown Director of Pomology METER Group, Inc. 2365 NE Hopkins Ct, Pullman, WA 99163 T 509.332.5984 E sales.environment@metergroup.com W www.metergroup.com