ARS Micronet 24-hr Rainfall Maps

Welcome to the ARS Micronetwork

*Attention Micronet Data Users, go to the News page for description of recent instrumentation changes.

The U.S.D.A. Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Grazinglands Research Laboratory (GRL) operates two weather station networks on two research watersheds in southwestern Oklahoma. Meteorological and hydrologic conditions in the Little Washita Experimental Watershed (LWREW) have been measured since 1961. In 1994, the ARS began monitoring the meteorological conditions in this watershed with an automated 42-station network called the ARS Micronet. This network was downscaled to 20 core stations in 2005. Also in 2005, the Ft. Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed (FCREW) was equipped with 15 weather stations like those deployed in the LWREW. This network of 15 stations will help address research objectives associated with the Conservation Effectiveness Assessment Project (CEAP). Collectively, the LWREW and FCREW weather station networks are referred to as the ARS Micronet. This overview provides general watershed information and description of the meteorological network.

The ARS Micronet is operated and maintained by the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Grazinglands Research Laboratory in cooperation with Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. The ARS Micronet is located within the larger Oklahoma Mesonet, which is operated by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.

The support and cooperation of area landowners, without which the ARS Micronet and related research would not be possible, is acknowledged and greatly appreciated. As a result of the cooperation between landowners and the ARS, progress in agricultural and hydrological research has been made possible.