Weather Station
The weather station is located at the Montgomery County Composting Facility. This station provides hourly weather records for the Compost Facility and the Resource Recovery Facility. The station consists of a 30-foot aluminum tower with the following equipment installed on the tower:
- Anemometer for wind speed and direction (installed @ 10m)
- Thermistor for ambient temperature (installed @ 2m and 10m)
- Relative humidity sensor for relative humidity and dew point (installed @ 2m)
- Solar radiation sensor for solar radiation data (installed @ 3m)
- Tipping bucket rain gauge for precipitation volume data
The data logger and communication equipment for the weather station is installed in a NEMA certified all-weather enclosure at the base of the tower.
The weather data is stored in the data logger and transmitted via a cellular connection to the County’s meteorological services contractor’s computer system.
Why do we collect weather data?
The hourly weather data allows the County to perform periodic ambient air monitoring or health risk assessment studies related to the operations of the RRF and conduct meteorological and air quality analyses as needed.
The weather station also records wind data in both 15-minute and hourly intervals. This data assists DEP in responding to resident’s questions regarding odors potentially originating from the Composting Facility or RRF.