Wisconet is a weather and soil monitoring network across the state. First install in 2023, there’s now 79 stations.
Every five minutes each station is collecting data ranging from temperature and wind speed to solar radiation and soil moisture.
Wisconet Manager Chris Vagasky says it’s anything you’d need to understand what the weather and environment is doing.
“It's a lot of data and tools that help people make more informed decisions to either have a safer life, a more productive life, or a more productive economy,” said Vagasky. “We're you know just taking all of this weather information that's floating out there in the ether and turning it into actionable things, so that you can make smarter decisions based on the weather.”
The data is shared directly with the National Weather Service and is publicly available online. Vagasky says the agricultural community is a big user of the data.
He says this data becomes even more valuable as the state experiences more extreme weather events.
“We've got the exceptional drought in northern Wisconsin right now. That is the largest expanse of exceptional drought in the drought monitor's history, which is coming up on 27 years now, so 6% of the state is in exceptional drought,” said Vagasky. “We've seen flooding and blizzards and ice storms and tornadoes in the last couple of years.”
Vagasky and Amanda Latham with the Wisconsin State Climatology Office will be talking about how the two programs are working together to help people better prepare for severe weather during this month’s Science on Tap Minocqua.
“Anything that we can do to help you know people make better decisions based on the weather to improve whatever it is, we think that there's a way that anybody that comes and listens to us, they'll find a way to use our information to make a better decision,” said Vagasky.
It’s this Thursday, November 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Rocky Reef Brewing Company. You can also stream it online.
Editor’s note: WXPR is a Science on Tap Minocqua sponsor.
