Texas Tech's West Texas Mesonet team was presented with the 2008 Larry R. Johnson Special Award from the National Weather Association during a luncheon at the NWA Conference in Louisville last week.
The award is presented to an individual or a group to recognize unique events or extraordinary accomplishments that significantly contribute to operational meteorology, according to a Tech news release.
The West Texas Mesonet research team members are Brian Hirth and Ross Williamson, faculty director John Schroeder and operations manager Wes Burgett. Burgett attended the conference to accept the award.
"We've been working on the project since 1999," Burgett said. "The nomination from the National Weather Association was a surprise."
The network demonstrated its importance to the people of the South Plains region during the recent flood event when the Mesonet Web site received more than 250,000 hits from more than 5,000 unique visitors, according to the release.
The two-day total number of hits for September 11-12, the entire heavy rain event, was 251,762 hits and 5,362 unique visitors.
On Sept. 12 the site received 156,946 hits - a single day record, from 3,347 unique visitors.
The full title of the award to the research team is "For the design and implementation of a real-time, free-access weather observation and dissemination system to improve forecasts, watches, warnings, agricultural and climatological services for the residents of West Texas," Burgett said.
The West Texas Mesonet has 54 stations in 36 counties covering West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, Burgett said.
Station number 54 was recently added in San Angelo in partnership with Angelo State University.
Real-time weather and agricultural information is provided free to a wide range of users, according to the release, including the general public, agricultural interests and the wind power industry.
More information about the West Texas Mesonet can be located at the Mesonet Web site, www.mesonet.ttu.edu.
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