Texas Water Development Board

09/17/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/17/2025 08:44

Calling all landowners: Become a TexMesonet partner!

Calling all landowners: Become a TexMesonet partner! Posted on September 17, 2025

Many of us rely on smartphone apps or broadcast meteorologists for weather updates but imagine enjoying the benefits of an advanced weather station right on your property. Many Texas landowners enjoy those benefits with TexMesonet stations that are much more sophisticated than the average personal weather gadget, These stations provide detailed information on temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity, solar radiation, barometric pressure, and even soil conditions.

If you're a landowner in Texas, your property could be the perfect spot for the next TexMesonet station.


What is TexMesonet?


A mesonet (shorthand for mesoscale network) is a grid of weather stations designed to detect and monitor mesoscale weather phenomena. Mesoscale weather events-such as thunderstorms, flooding, drought, and fronts-range in size from several to hundreds of square miles. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) developed TexMesonet to serve as the state's unified weather network capturing real-time data on soil conditions and meteorological events across Texas.

TexMesonet includes a variety of stations and networks, such as those operated by the National Weather Service, West Texas Mesonet, Lower Colorado River Authority, and others. Additionally, the TWDB actively installs and maintains its own stations. All data is displayed at https://www.texmesonet.org.

This "network of networks" is critical for meeting the goal to cover all parts of the state. But the success of this network is only possible thanks to landowners and partner agencies that allow these stations to be established on their properties.


Where are TexMesonet stations needed?

The TWDB has a target goal to install at least 225 stations across the state to fill gaps in data coverage and deliver statewide mesonet coverage. Each station has a tower that collects important weather data and sends updates every five minutes to https://www.texmesonet.org. To date, the agency has installed and monitors 119 TWDB-owned TexMesonet stations across Texas.

Although there are coverage gaps across the state, Far West Texas, South Texas, and East Texas are the areas of greatest need. The West Texas Mesonet, operated by the National Wind Institute at Texas Tech University, has an extensive network of weather stations covering the Panhandle region, which allows the TWDB to focus on installing stations elsewhere in Texas.

When screening a possible TexMesonet installation site, the TWDB factors in the site's location in relation to other meteorological stations, the availability of wireless communication networks, soil type, and the property's topographical features, including the distance station sensors would be from tall obstacles or reflective objects.


What are the requirements for a TexMesonet station site?


This is what is required:

• a 38-by-38-foot piece of land that is clear of tall trees and buildings,

• access to AT&T cellular service, and

• a memorandum of agreement with the TWDB allowing for site access.

A station is built over the course of 2-3 days. It takes a few more weeks for staff to review incoming sensor data for potential issues before releasing the station to go live and provide real-time data on https://www.texmesonet.org.


What are the components of a TexMesonet station?


Each TexMesonet station includes meteorological sensors for measuring temperature, humidity, wind, pressure, and precipitation. A data logger is also mounted onto the tower inside a waterproof enclosure.

There are two types of TexMesonet stations. Primary stations feature a 33-foot tower to measure wind and temperature at various heights, as well as humidity, sunlight, rainfall, and air pressure. Secondary stations are smaller, 10-foot towers that measure temperature, humidity, wind speed, and precipitation. Both types of stations also record the moisture and temperature of the soil at different depths and run on a mix of solar power and batteries, sending out data every five minutes.


What are the cost and maintenance requirements of a TexMesonet station?


There is no cost to landowners or land managers to have a TexMesonet station installed. However, TexMesonet staff need to access the station for regular maintenance and to repair or replace faulty sensors and equipment. At a minimum, staff require site access twice a year; however, they may also need additional maintenance visits from time to time to ensure that sensors are reporting accurately. If the TWDB determines that a site is suitable for a TexMesonet station, the landowner must sign a non-binding land access agreement that allows TWDB staff access to the property.


How can I learn more about hosting a TexMesonet station?


By hosting a TexMesonet weather station on your property, you're contributing to weather monitoring within your community and providing a critical information resource for emergency managers, farmers and ranchers, local forecasters, and others.

If you're interested in hosting a TexMesonet station or would like more information, please contact the TexMesonet team at [email protected].

Landowner spotlight: Taylor Christian

  • Where is the property? Near Cooper, Texas, in Delta County.
  • Why did your family volunteer to have a TexMesonet station installed? The land has been in my family since 1865 and has been farmed continuously since then. Last year, my grandmother, who grew up in Cooper, passed just a few months shy of her 100th birthday, and I inherited the land. Since my job focuses on water data, I thought a TexMesonet station to collect data would be the perfect way to honor my grandma, her land, and bring my own interest into the project by creating a new legacy of collecting publicly available water data.
  • Is the land being used for agricultural production? The land is used for agricultural production by a local farmer in the area. When I considered installing the station, I called to see if this kind of data would be helpful, and he was thrilled to have local data to help him plan crops and other needs.
  • Anything else you'd like to add about the benefits of being a part of the TexMesonet network? I was able to name the station "Hooten," after my grandmother. I feel so grateful to help provide critical data to that small community, and even more so, I can do it in her name!

This article is posted in Technology/ Weather/ Drought/ Water Data.

Texas Water Development Board published this content on September 17, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 17, 2025 at 14:44 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]