ABC-7 expands Weathernet network

ABC-7 announced the launch of more than 50 new Weathernet sites around the Borderland.

The station joined forces with the global weather network, WeatherBug, to add to the 20 current Weathernet stations.

Through the new network, ABC-7 now can use weather data from 8,500 stations around the United States and 2,000 more stations across the globe.

ABC-7 is the only station in El Paso with access to the network, which includes real-time weather data from sites and live-feed video. The video can be processed as time lapses as well.

WeatherBug Trainer and meteorologist Jacob Wycoff said the network is especially important for cities like El Paso, where temperatures, winds and precipitation can be completely different from the West to East side due to the Franklin Mountains.

“The National Weather Service data is up to an hour old, their observations at the airport,” Wycoff said. “These weather stations are in the community, and the businesses that your viewers live in, and to collect that real-time data allows you to inform them of things that are happening, as they’re happening.”

ABC-7 visited Loretto Elementary School, where one of the new Weathernet sites is installed.

According to fifth grade teacher Liza Harvey, the graduating 5th grade class last year raised funds for the site.

Harvey said students held corn sales, bake sales, a Valentine’s Dance, and received donations. In total, the site cost nearly $7,000 Harvey said.

She said the students gave the weather station to the school as a gift, adding that the current students particularly love to check the weather data monitor setup in their hallway.

Unfortunately, since the site was installed it hadn’t seen much air time in the media.

Now that ABC-7 has joined the network, that’s all about to change.

“They will be so happy because we’ve been waiting, you know, anxiously waiting for this to happen,” Harvey said.