Leading New York City – Weather Station Network (NY-uHMT)
The NYC urban Hydro-meteorological Testbed (NY-uHMT) is a groundbreaking project led by Dr. Lakhankar, aimed at understanding the complex land-atmosphere interactions over urban areas. This project is the first of its kind in the world, consisting of 20 autonomous weather stations that will monitor both meteorological and hydrological states in real-time to generate data that can be used to improve weather/climate forecasting and prediction, aid emergency response, and critical decision-making.
The in-situ data collected from the weather stations will be available in near real-time, with updates every 15 minutes. These data will be merged with the National Weather Service RADAR precipitation to create a high-resolution temperature and precipitation product for New York City. The developed product will be used to accelerate the development and fusion of new observing data, modeling methods, and recent scientific research for developing efforts on key hydrological and meteorological forecast issues.
The NY-uHMT project is not just limited to scientific research, but also aims to involve the community in the data collection process. Several public schools, community colleges, one public library, botanical garden, and NY City Housing Authority (NYCHA) real estates are part of this project. The data produced from these stations will be made available to the public, agencies, and researchers through open access servers located at the CUNY CREST Institute in the City College of New York.
This project is a unique opportunity for K12 students and educators to connect their lessons with real-world environmental problems beyond the classroom settings. Since most of these stations are located within the school premises, students and educators can gain first-hand experience in environmental data collection and analysis.
The data collected from the NY-uHMT project will also be used to validate NOAA’s satellite data products and create a high-resolution urban Flash Flood Guidance (uFFG) and Hazard Warnings system. This system will help city officials and emergency managers make informed decisions during the occurrence of extreme weather events, thereby reducing the risks and damages caused by such events.
In conclusion, the NYC urban Hydro-meteorological Testbed (NY-uHMT) project led by Dr. Lakhankar is a pioneering initiative aimed at improving weather/climate forecasting and prediction, aid emergency response, and critical decision-making. The project not only involves scientific research but also aims to involve the community in the data collection process, particularly K12 students and educators, to connect their lessons with real-world environmental problems beyond the classroom settings. The data produced from this project will be made available to the public, agencies, and researchers, thereby contributing to the development of new observing data, modeling methods, and recent scientific research for developing efforts on key hydrological and meteorological forecast issues.
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