HAGERSTOWN, MD (July 22, 2024) – The Washington County Office of Emergency Management is pleased to announce the installation of a second Maryland Mesonet weather monitoring station in Clear Spring, joining the first station located in Keedysville. This expansion is part of a broader initiative to enhance emergency preparedness and public safety through the deployment of high-quality, closely-spaced weather monitoring systems across Maryland.

The Maryland Mesonet project, a collaboration between the Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) and the University of Maryland (UMD), aims to build and operate a state-of-the-art network of approximately 70 meteorological stations. These stations will collect, transmit, and archive real-time weather data to improve weather forecasts and provide timely warnings of severe weather to the public and decision-makers.

The Mesonet stations are strategically placed approximately 10 miles apart and are equipped for rapid-sampling and transmission of data every minute.

Keedysville and Clear Spring Stations:

• Keedysville Station: Keedysville Weather Data
• Clear Spring Station: Clear Spring Weather Data

These stations provide critical benefits to Washington County, including:

Enhanced Decision Making: Local officials can use real-time data to make informed decisions related to public health, school operations, and emergency response.

Public Safety: Improved weather forecasting and severe weather warnings enhance public safety planning and help identify long-term community risks.

Infrastructure Protection: Monitoring local weather conditions helps quantify the impact of natural hazards on critical infrastructure.

Disaster Response: Data collected can be leveraged when requesting Presidential Disaster Declarations and Hazard Mitigation funding.

The Maryland Mesonet will also support various sectors, such as agriculture, education, utilities, green energy, environment, forest/wildfire management, transportation, and tourism. By providing real-time weather data, these stations will facilitate better planning and response to weather-related events, ultimately contributing to the resilience and safety of our communities.

For more information about the Maryland Mesonet project and to access real-time weather data from the Keedysville and Clear Spring stations, please visit the Maryland Mesonet website.

For additional information, please contact Washington County’s Public Relations and Marketing Department at 240-313-2380 or [email protected].

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