Earth Networks Announces New National Mesonet Contract Award

Apr 14, 2020

Press Releases

Public-Private Partnership Helps to Ensure a Weather-Ready Nation

Earth Networks awarded new National Mesonet Program contract

Germantown, Maryland – Earth Networks announced today that it will continue working as a subcontractor to KBR on a $128 million multi-year contract recently awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) to provide key weather data services through the National Mesonet Program.

Under this contract, Earth Networks and its public and private partners will supply local weather data from more than 50,000 surface-based, mobile and aircraft-based weather observation platforms in the U.S. and globally to the National Mesonet Program—a central repository for non-federal weather data.

This data plays a critical role in the nation’s numerical weather prediction and local monitoring infrastructure, and drastically improves weather forecasting, severe weather watches and warnings, and emergency response for all regions of the country.

“The National Mesonet Program is a fantastic example of a very successful collaboration of commercial, academic, and state/local government organizations who are delivering mission critical weather data cost-effectively and at great scale to enhance our nation’s safety and prosperity. We are delighted to leverage our comprehensive national weather monitoring network and data handling capabilities in partnership with other weather data providers to advance and support this important initiative,” said Rich Spaulding, CEO of Earth Networks.

Earth Networks is a first-tier subcontractor on the program, assisting in the management, outreach, and performance of the contract, including transmission of meteorological information to NOAA and the NWS. Teaming with KBR, Synoptic Data PBC, WeatherFlow, and the University of Oklahoma, Earth Networks will help carry out this work over the next five years. This firm-fixed-price contract is a recompete of a contract the company previously won in 2017.

“The National Mesonet Program, now having grown to include four dozen networks since 2009, provides a valuable source of observations for improving National Weather Service warning and forecast operations,” said Dr. Curtis Marshall, the National Weather Service’s National Mesonet Program Manager.

“The program is a model public-private partnership and we look forward to continuing this important program with KBR and all the partner networks,” he said.

Earth Networks’ hyperlocal weather stations have contributed observations to the National Mesonet Program since its inception. Since that time, the National Mesonet Program has grown to become a prime example of industry partners working collaboratively with the government in support of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act, enabling the expansion of observing systems to improve real-time forecasts and aid critical weather-related decisions being made daily across the country.

About Earth Networks

Earth Networks, part of the Advanced Environmental Monitoring family of companies, has been Taking the Pulse of the Planet® for more than 25 years. We help organizations mitigate financial, operational and human risk by providing environmental intelligence from the world’s largest hyperlocal weather network. Schools, airports, sports teams, utilities and government agencies utilize our early warning solutions to safeguard lives, prepare for weather events and optimize operations. Companies use our data for informed decision-making regarding risk management, business continuity and asset protection.

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