Long-term weather data provides important insights for the research conducted at Rice Creek. We record minute-by-minute data on air, soil, and water temperature as well as precipitation, soil moisture, barometric pressure, wind speed/direction, and other metrics.
Our current weather conditions and high-resolution archived data (2005 until present) are freely available. The current weather station is dedicated to Dr. Lucina Hernandez, past director of Rice Creek Field Station.
Real time/Current Weather DataArchived Weather Data
Some previous weather data from Fall 2005 to Winter 2009 has been archived by Dr. Al Stamm from the Meteorology Program. You can find that data at Past Weather at Rice Creek.
RCFS weather station, with sign honoring former RCFS Director Dr. Lucina Hernandez (2008-2013), along with her quote:
Rice Creek's weather is a vision of beauty; a gift to appreciate every day.
Location
The weather station is located outside the main Field Station building, approximately 1.5 miles from the SUNY Oswego campus and the southern shoreline of Lake Ontario and approximately 3.25 miles west of the Oswego River.
How We Measure Weather
Measuring Temperature
We use the THSW index to measure temperature. The THSW Index uses humidity, temperature wind and solar to calculate an apparent temperature that incorporates the cooling effects of wind on our perception of temperature.
Measuring Soil Moisture and Water Temperature
We have four soil moisture sensors, ten inches under the soil, and two water temperature sensors, placed in December 2015. The water temperature sensors are labeled in the data tables as Soil Temp 1 and Soil Temp 2. The lower the reading, the higher the soil moisture content.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge Dr. Alfred Stamm's role in establishing the previous Rice Creek Field Station weather station, archiving the previous station data, and assisting during the installation of the current station. Our thanks also to Dr. Steve Skubis for helping establish the real-time/current Rice Creek weather station link.