Weather and Seismic Stations
We have several weather stations located at the State Fruit Experiment Station. The first is affiliated with the National Weather Service and is located in the campus area just west of Shepard Hall. Personnel at the State Fruit Experiment Station have been recording weather for the National Weather Service NOAA for over 100 years. A Cotton Region Shelter, a historic piece, is located there along with a Fisher/Porter Gauge for precipitation, A Standard Rain Gauge, and a Maximum/Minimum Temperature System.
To the west of the campus area, in the field and research plantings, two additional weather stations and a seismic recording station are located. The AgEBB weather station (pictured below, left) tracks general weather data and the Forest Technology Systems station (pictured below, right) tracks weather data specific to fire hazard. The wind meter on the FTS station is 20 feet from the ground whereas the wind meter on the AgEbb station is about 10 feet from the ground.
A seismic recorder for earthquake detection is located just north of the Forest Technology Systems Weather Station. Dr. Robert Herrmann of St. Louis University is presently managing the project, but the project will be maintained in the future by the United States Geological Service (USGS). Information on the station is online and the real-time seismogram is also available.