Would you mobile mesonet for science?

Jayson Prentice said:
I think Tyler was giving an exaggeration when he mentioned 15' off the ground for the typical height of wind measurements. For most vehicles the same build would be applicable, as the measurements would be out of the slipstream of the vehicle and thus would be valid measurements of the environment. There may be some vehicles that the typical build won't work with; that have a larger slipstream... As Tyler said, they aren't too far with the process and all of these questions will have to be answered before this becomes a scientific endeavor. Once again, this is a great idea, but will take a lot of time and effort that may pay off big in the end.
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I agree, arodynamic profiling is going to be the tricky part, for example, I have a chevy lumina van that has a long sloped windshield, but you get a Chevy truck with a cap on it, and you are going to have to refigure everything out, if you are using the wind instruments for my van your going to have to be about 2 or 3 feet taller than what the truck is going to be. That is if I have done my own math right:cool:
 
David Drummond said:
Tyler, would we as chasers be able to see any of the data in real time? Like I run a Davis station because I like to know what the dewpoint is all the time and make measured reports on wind etc. If so I could complete replace that setup with what you have going.
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Yes. The theory at the moment is that we would expand the SN client to include a "weather station" window so you can see the data in real-time. The SN window would then take "snaps" of the weather data every X seconds and upload to the SN for recording.

-Tyler
 
Are the traditional mobile mesonets collecting wind data while in motion? It seems like turbulence associated with driving on the highway would make accurate in-motion wind readings impossible even with speed/heading compensation devices. Seems like most devices have vane oscillations when the vehicles were moving.
 
Dan Robinson said:
Are the traditional mobile mesonets collecting wind data while in motion? It seems like turbulence associated with driving on the highway would make accurate in-motion wind readings impossible even with speed/heading compensation devices. Seems like most devices have vane oscillations when the vehicles were moving.
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Yes they are collecting wind data. And often while driving the effects of other vehicles are minimal, although semi's do definitely create invalid data streams with their large turbulent eddies. Overall the data collected while moving is quite good, and is seen as valid in the scientific field. Obviously the best data sets would be created when the vehicle is parked and is obtaining measurements, but that isn't always possible.
 
Cost would be the biggest factor. Overall size would come in a close second. Are we expected to have the PVC nightmare of tubes all over the vehicle? I'm definitely interested as I already have good platform to start with since I have a heavy duty roof rack on my truck.
 
It needs a name. How about, Storm Chaser Research Assist Program (SCRAP) :D. Kinda goofy, but I thought I would throw it out there anyway just for discussion's sake.
 
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