The West Texas Mesonet originated in 1999 as a project of Texas Tech University. The mesonet consists of 40 automated surface meteorological stations, two atmospheric profilers, and one upper-air sounding system. Each surface station measures up to 15 meteorological and 10 agricultural parameters over an observation period of 5 and 15 min, respectively. The mesonet uses a combination of radio, cell phone, landline phone, and serial server (Internet) communication systems to relay data back to the base station at Reese Technology Center (formerly Reese Air Force Base), Texas. Data are transmitted through the radio network every 5 min for most meteorological data and every 15 min for agricultural data. For stations located outside of the radio network, phone systems transmit data every 30-60 min. The archive includes data received through the various communication systems, as well as data downloaded in the field from each station during regularly scheduled maintenance visits. Quality assurance/control (QA/QC) tests effectively flag data for manual review from a decision maker.

Although dependent on rainfall and other climate factors to produce crops, West Texas crop consultants, extension agents, and agricultural producers have few tools that allow them to track the current growing season's climate conditions and determine how current conditions compare with those of past years. Th e West Texas Mesonet Agro-Climate Monitor (ACM), a JavaScript web application based on daily data from Texas Tech University's mesonet weather station network, was designed to meet this need. By displaying continuously updated information on variables such as soil temperature, cumulative growing degree days (GDD), cumulative precipitation, and fi rst freeze dates, the ACM allows producers to monitor planting conditions, track crop development, and compare current conditions with those during the previous 10 yr's growing seasons. In illustrating how mesonet data might be used as an operational climate data resource, the ACM might also serve as a conceptual model for other high resolution climate tools that estimate measures of current climate using continuously updated daily data sets.