Why the West Texas Mesonet is an important (and free) resource

BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The West Texas Mesonet: Meteorologists talk about it all the time, but what is it and why does it matter?

Carter and Kat went around the newsroom asking what others thought the Mesonet was. The answers?

“Sounds like a coffee shop.”
“A society of weather people.”
“An instrument, like a mellophone.”
“A special calculator.”
“A Doppler radar.”

So, what is the Mesonet?

“It’s basically a collection of weather stations that measure things like temperature, wind, humidity, maybe rainfall amounts, soil moisture, and sometimes even just soil temps. So a lot of our Aggies, our farmers out there really getting some great data for them, especially as a resource. But it also does this every five minutes, which is pretty cool, just to keep getting constant readings that way,” Carter explained.

Mesonet sites stretch across West Texas and the U.S., providing meteorologists with updated readings every five minutes. That constant stream of data is critical when forecasting, especially during unpredictable weather.

“From a broadcast meteorology standpoint, it’s nice to have all of those different plots across the Big Country… We can literally watch as a storm moves through, kind of see the different parameters of it in real time,” Kat shared.

The West Texas Mesonet is operated by the Texas Tech University National Wind Institute. It was founded in 1999 after deadly tornadoes and dust storms highlighted the need for better severe weather coverage. Today, there are more than 100 stations across West Texas, with others in eastern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado.

“I was like, why are we putting one station miles away from the other, all by itself, out west? The reason is kind of smart,” Carter said. “They put it upstream so we can get an idea of different systems that will be moving into our area.”

There are now 22 Mesonet stations across the Big Country, including the newest one, installed in December 2024 on the Abilene Christian University campus. That station measures 29 parameters, including wind, temperature, rainfall, soil moisture, and soil temperature.

One of its most important uses is helping meteorologists issue flash flood warnings. The ACU site is the third Mesonet location in Abilene, joining sensors at the airport and Dyess Air Force Base.

But the data isn’t just for scientists and meteorologists; it’s also a tool for the public.

“If you want to know what the temperature is at that moment, like, do I need to throw on a sweater before I head out the door, you can check it,” Kat said. “Obviously, it doesn’t give you the forecast, and that’s why you tune in to your local meteorologists, such as Carter and I.”

The Mesonet is also a resource for students, especially science majors, and for planning events. From monitoring wind speeds at sporting events to checking how wet the soil is for agriculture, the Mesonet’s data goes far beyond the weather forecast.