Ag Weather Network: A Tool for All
April 6, 2020 by EOT SWCD
Do you live in Central Minnesota? Do you like having access to accurate up-to-date weather? If so, the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) is for you. Yes, we know it says North Dakota, but it serves data for central and northwestern Minnesota. There are 12 stations located throughout the central region including: Becker, Hubbard, Otter Tail, Wadena, Pope, Todd, Morrison, Benton and Sherburne counties.
Formerly, the data from these 12 weather stations was provided to the region by the Central MN Ag Weather Network. Due to the maintenance that the website needed along with funding concerns, the East Otter Tail Soil and Water Conservation District (EOT SWCD) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) partnered with NDAWN to serve the data. This has been a “win-win” for all! NDAWN has the staffing capabilities and knowledge to manage the website, which also offers more resources than the former network.
The partnership added several new features including 5-minute real-time weather data, soil temperature, and crop aid applications. Additionally, the MDA supported the installation of air temperature sensors at all the MN locations to assist producers with determining if an inversion exists. This data is accessible on the NDAWN Inversion application, available for free download at both the App store (iOS) and Google Play (Android). Users of this application can choose the stations they are interested in and receive notification when inversion conditions exist in those areas.
Even though this network was developed for agricultural purposes, it can be used by anyone. If you are interested in how much rain fell yesterday or today’s minimum air temperature the NDAWN website has that, as well as the current conditions. Check it out at ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu. To find the Minnesota stations, click on "Current Weather" in the green bar below the map.
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