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COAGMET -- Weather Data ni�ersity ngrioulftral Helps Colorado Agriculture Manage Water Experiment Station by Nolan Doesken and Troy Bauder COAGMET is an acronym for Colorado AGricultural METeorologi- cal Network. As the acronym implies, the purpose of this effort is to provide weather data to Colorado agriculture. For over a decade now, an informal but effective partnership that involves several departments at Colorado State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CSU Agricultural Experiment Station, the Northern Figure 1. COAGMET weather station at the Yuma site. Colorado Water Conservancy District, commodi- ties groups and other individuals and organizations committed to Colorado agriculture has been working together to collect and share weather data. COAGMET is a great example of what can be ac- complished with cooperation and collaboration. Back in the 1980s, Dr. Harold Duke (retired) and Mike Blue, of the Water Management Unit of the USDA -ARS, were setting up automated weather stations to assist research projects on water -use ef- ficiency. At the same time, Dr. Howard Schwartz and Mark McMillan, with CSU's Department of BioAgricul- tural Science and Pest Management, were setting up weather stations to help study insects and diseases affecting crops in Colorado. The two groups decided to work together, and by 1989 the foundations for COAGMET were in place. The Colorado Climate Center joined the team during the 1990s. Cooperative Extension, the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, and several commodity groups are also a part of the team. COAGMET comprises a network of automated weather stations throughout Colorado (Figures 1 and 2) and the computer system for collecting, archiving, displaying and disseminating the data. The basic elements automatically observed by COAGMET weather stations include parameters required for calculating daily evapotranspiration (ET) using combination equations: temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. The stations also record wind direction, precipitation, and soil temperature. Data are processed locally using CR10 Campbell Scientific data loggers. Currently, most of these weather stations trans- mit data summaries for one -hour increments to the central processor at Colorado State Uni- versity once daily. Most stations are equipped with cellular phones programmed to turn on at assigned times. Figure 2. COAGMET weather station distribution in Colorado. 12 _....