What is a mesonet?

“Mesonet” is a combination of the words “mesoscale” and “network”.

In meteorology, “mesoscale” refers to weather events that range in size from about one mile to about 150 miles. Mesoscale events last from several minutes to several hours. Therefore, mesoscale weather events are phenomena that might go undetected without densely spaced weather observations. Thunderstorms, wind gusts, heatbursts, and drylines, are examples of mesoscale events.

A “network” is an interconnected system.

Thus, mesonets are systems designed to measure the environment at the size and duration of mesoscale weather events, i.e. at the local, state, or regional level (1).

For more information, see the Wikipedia article about Mesonets, as well as the National Mesonet website.

(1) Adapted from and courtesy of the Oklahoma Mesonet website.