Weather & Climate

Automated Weather Stations (AWS) & Meteorologic Instruments

Case Study » 1996 Summer Olympics: Realtime Weather Monitoring

Project Summary

Application Type:
Monitoring weather conditions in support of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA

Location:
Olympic venues, Atlanta, GA, USA

Contributors:
Gerrit Hoogenboom, Department of biological/agricultural engineering, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA; Carlos Garza, Peachtree City Forecast Office, National Weather Service, NOAA, Peachtree, GA.

Contracting Agencies:
National Weather Service, University of Georgia

Measured Parameters:
Temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, precipitation, soil radiation, soil temperature

Forty-five Campbell Scientific weather stations transmitted weather data to the two Olympic weather offices during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, in Atlanta, Georgia. The CR10-based stations monitored air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall; the data was averaged and transmitted every 15 minutes. Thirty-one of these stations were owned by the University of Georgia's Automated Environmental Monitoring Network. The National Weather Service added another 14 stations to fill in the gaps around some of the venues.