Did You Know UF/IFAS Has Its Own Weather Network?

By Rick Lusher

The Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN) was established in 1998 in response to the discontinuation of the National Weather Service (NWS) agricultural weather forecast products.  What began as a network of 11 Cooperative Extension Service sites in Lake and Orange counties is now a statewide system of 41 sites located from Homestead to Jay, near Pensacola. Data are collected from each site every 15 minutes and, along with several calculated products and weather-related tools, are delivered to the public by way of the Internet. 

Navigating the Homepage
The FAWN Homepage shows a map of the state of Florida with the current air temperature displayed at each FAWN station, with different shaded areas to show higher (oranges and reds) and lower (greens and blues) values.  There are also links to various data access methods, data products, and tools.   FAWN also posts system status updates via Twitter.

Additional current measurements and a local National Weather Service (NWS) forecast can be viewed by rolling your mouse over the temperature at any station – Citra, indicated by the red circle, is shown below.  You can also select different map views by selecting the links to the left of the map, Wet Bulb Temp, for example.

FAWN’s mission: provide timely 

and accurate weather data 

to a wide variety of users.

Even More Data

Along the left side of the Homepage, there are several ways to access information.  For example, you can view RADAR images and loops from each NWS Florida RADAR.

You can use Graphic Weather Data to view recent data on a graph, and easily see how temperatures, for example, are changing over time.

If numbers are your thing, you can use Latest Observations to view data from all stations in a table.

Your Weather Toolkit

While FAWN has access to lots of data, we also do a lot of calculations for farmers and homeowners alike.  These can be found in the Tools menu in the green bar at the top of the Homepage.

As you can see above, we have tools for cold protection, irrigation, and climate, as well as several miscellaneous tools.  

All FAWN resources are available free-of-charge at the FAWN website. If you are into weather data and weather related information, especially in Florida, FAWN is the place for you.  Thanks for checking out this quick overview, and please be sure to check future blog posts for a more detailed look at our data products and tools.