The Weather Networks Keeping Marylanders Safe

The University of Maryland is helping to keep the residents and businesses in Maryland safe from severe weather with the Maryland Mesonet and Maryland HydroNet.

The Maryland Mesonet is a vast network of rapid-sampling weather monitoring stations across the state. “Wind speed, temperature fluctuations, etcetera, that's getting into the hands of the people who can issue the warnings fastest," said Maryland Mesonet Manager James Hyde. 

The Maryland HydroNet is a network of low-cost, continuous, near-real-time sea-level monitoring sensors installed along the shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay. “We know we’re dealing with a lot of flooding, but we need continuous monitoring. And there are these data deserts all across the bay where there are no observations going on," said University of Maryland Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Associate Professor Tim Canty. 

The data from both the Mesonet and HydroNet are transmitted to the National Weather Service in near real-time and are simultaneously available to local and state emergency management personnel, enabling them to warn Maryland citizens of severe weather, such as tornadoes and flooding.