North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network
(NDAWN)
NDAWN .. a network of automatic weather stations continuously monitoring North Dakota's weather.
Description ...
NDAWN currently consists of 49 automatic weather stations, 42 distributed across North Dakota,
2 in eastern Montana and 5 in northwestern Minnesota. Stations are located on permanent sites chosen
to represent the general climate of the surrounding area.
NDAWN stations monitor weather conditions continuously and provide hourly and daily summaries. Data
are retrieved daily via telephone modem by personnel from the High Plains Climate Center (HPCC), Lincoln,
NE. Following quality control procedures, data are archived and transferred to the NDSU Extension Network
(ExtNet) computer system. Through ExtNet, past and current (yesterday's data today) weather data are available
in a variety of formats. Data are also available through the Regional Weather Information Center, University
of North Dakota.
Measured and calculated variables include:
- Air Pressure
- Air Temperature
- Dew Point Temperature
- Degree Days (Growing, Heating, Cooling, Insect)
- Potential Evapotranspiration and Crop Water Use
- Rainfall
- Relative Humidity
- Soil Temperature
- Solar Radiation
- Wind Speed and Direction
Background ...
NDAWN was established in cooperation with the High Plains Climate Center (HPCC), University of Nebraska in 1989.
WEATHER was developed in cooperation with the NDSU
Extension Service in 1990. Originally the network consisted of 6 stations, but has now grown to
49. Sixteen stations were added in 1993 through a joint project with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, UND.
All equipment and operational costs of the network have been funded through gifts and grants from federal
agencies, agribusinesses, commodity groups and individual producers.
NDAWN is operated in cooperation with:
For Further Information Contact:
John W. Enz
(701) 231-8576
NDSU Soil Science Department
P.O. Box 5638, NDSU
Fargo, ND 58105-5638