How windy was it on Friday, March 12, 2004? Just ask Geoff Eargle of ES&H.
"The Fermilab Meteorological Station recorded a maximum 'burst' wind
speed of 60.1 mph on March 12, beating the previous Fermilab record of 58.3
mph recorded May 18, 1997," said Eargle. The record-setting
wind gust didn't help the average 17.7 mph wind speed for March 12
surpass the current record of 25.6 mph set on May 11, 2003, however.
The Fermilab Meteorological Station, a 30-foot high tower located
in a field east of the New Muon Laboratory and north of Wilson Street,
started operating in 1994. The station is completely solar powered
and measures temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction,
precipitation, and solar radiation.
"The station was originally installed to comply with Clean Air
Act regulations," said Eargle. The station provides weather
information used in reporting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
precipitation data to construction managers working on the
Fermilab site, and current conditions to everyone through
the Weather at Fermilab Web site.
Fermilab's Meteorological Station does not provide official data to
the National Weather Service.
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