Community Corner
New Local Weather Monitoring Systems to Enhance Emergency Planning and Response Efforts Throughout RI
WeatherBug Systems Installed by National Grid and Earth Networks Will Help Communities Better Prepare for and Respond to Extreme Weather Incidents
July 15, 2014 – In the wake of Hurricane Arthur, the first big storm to hit Rhode Island this hurricane season, National Grid, in collaboration with Earth Networks, is installing WeatherBug monitoring stations in several Rhode Island south county locations to improve access to local weather data. The real-time weather monitoring systems will help local emergency management officials, first responders, public works departments and National Grid better prepare for and respond more efficiently to extreme weather incidents that can impact local communities.
“When our utility teams and first responders have access to the valuable real-time, local data provided by WeatherBug stations, we can better monitor and predict severe weather that can impact our communities and power they rely on,” said Timothy F. Horan, President, National Grid Rhode Island. “Access to this data can help National Grid reduce the amount of time it takes to restore power after a storm.”
National Grid has installed new WeatherBug stations in Coventry and Exeter, plans to soon install a WeatherBug station in Hopkinton, and additional stations are pending in several more Rhode Island communities.
“The Town of Coventry and its EMA staff are very thankful for the opportunity to team with National Grid and Earthworks on the WeatherBug project,” said Bryan J. Volpe, Chief of Police in Coventry. “During storm events we review and analyze all forms of weather data in order to provide our community with the most effective response possible. The installation of the WeatherBug weather station inside our Emergency Operations Center will certainly provide our EMA team with up to date information critical to our response mission.”
Installed WeatherBug stations measure local conditions including temperature, wind speed and direction, precipitation, humidity, heat index and more in real time. All collected WeatherBug data is utilized by NOAA and the National Weather Service. As additional stations are installed across Rhode Island and more local data is made available, forecasts become more accurate and reliable. In addition, the data is entered into National Grid’s storm damage probability computer program. The program uses historical storm information to plot the likely path of storms to determine potential locations for electric system damage that could cause service interruptions. The company is then able to position personnel and equipment in those locations before the storms hit allowing for more rapid service restoration.
“National Grid is bringing more local weather to more communities through this program,” said John Bosse, Director of Energy Services, Earth Networks. “This information not only benefits the communities and National Grid, it will help everyone in the communities make better decisions each and every day.”
“By having accurate local data available, we can better predict areas that may be affected within our community during a potential weather event,” said E. Stefan Coutoulakis, Director of the Emergency Management Agency in Exeter. “We are even working closely with Earth Networks to link this data into our systems to help our Hazardous Materials Response Teams more accurately predict where chemical dispersion patterns may exist in the event of a transportation emergency.”
WeatherBug data from installed stations is available to the public online (Coventry: http://weather.weatherbug.com/RI/Coventry-weather.html and Exeter: http://weather.weatherbug.com/weather-safety/online-weather-center/OnlineWeatherCenter.aspx?aid=5994) and through mobile solutions (iOS and Android) apps.
About National Grid
National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE:NGG) is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the center of the energy system and it ‘joins everything up’.
In the northeast US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles. In Great Britain, we run the gas and
electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country.
National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
For more information please visit our website: www.nationalgridus.com.
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