Automated weather station installed in Thomasville
By Arthur McLean Editor

PHOTO BY ARTHUR MCLEAN This solar-powered weather station is part of the climate study performed by the National Weather Service. The stations cost approximately $20,000 each.

Some of you may have noticed a strange collection of equipment just beyond the softball fields near the Nathan Stephens Sports Complex.

The equipment is a brand new, automated weather station installed by the National Weather Service. The station replaces the human observers who've been working in Thomasville for many years. For more than 50 years, the late Leroy Gates served as an observer for the National Weather Service in Thomasville before ending his service.

Now, a solar powered weather station reports data by satellite to the National Climatic Data Center every hour. Gene Jacobi with the National Weather Service office in Mobile said the station is part of the government's efforts to modernize the weather reporting system for climate study.

Jacobi said Thomasville was likely chosen as a site for a new weather station because of its long history of reporting data.

The automated station can report temperature, humidity and precipitation, but Jacobi said these weather stations weren't exactly designed to provide real-time weather information. Although the station's weather information can be accessed via the internet, no current data could be seen on the page provided by the National Climatic Data Center.

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