The weather station that never sleeps

How the World Trade Center tapped world-class Vaisala technology to create its own weather center.

The client: World Trade Center Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Vaisala provided: Automatic Weather Station AWS310, Air Quality Transmitter AQT420

Goal: Gain local weather data for Lower Manhattan.

The World Trade Center is one of the most recognizable locations in the world, and one of the busiest transportation hubs in New York City.

The World Trade Center, and Lower Manhattan, experience weather conditions that can vary relative to the rest of New York City. The area can see blustery weather and other weather conditions that can fluctuate locally. The World Trade Center Department Operations Division monitors weather data through national channels, and had a vision to augment this data through local weather data collection at the World Trade Center. Customers and other stakeholders would benefit from the information to understand local conditions and prepare for any changes.

Solution: Complete, hyperlocal weather insights

The World Trade Center Department team worked with Vaisala to create a state-of-the- art weather station to gather and disseminate a wide range of weather data regarding the Lower Manhattan area. Located at Liberty Park behind the America’s Response Monument, the solution includes professional- grade sensors and technology for accurate, reliable weather data.

Combined with the Vaisala Air Quality Transmitter AQT420, the Vaisala Automatic Weather Station AWS310 bundles together all the essential weather and air quality observations, creates meteorological calculations and reports, displays real-time data, and saves history files for operational review.

The automated Vaisala Ceilometer CL51 BL measures the atmospheric mixing layer and cloud height, which the Center uses to understand and build precision simulations of existing conditions. Accurate wind speed and direction are provided by the Vaisala WINDCAP® Ultrasonic Wind Sensor WMT700.

The Vaisala FD71P Present Weather Sensor measures visibility, present weather and precipitation. Rounding out the solution is the Vaisala HUMICAP Humidity and Temperature Probe HMP155 which measures air temperature, dew point and relative humidity. Equipment is hardwired and the data is securely hosted through Vaisala’s cloud solution services.

Results: Dependable data for greater resiliency

With its own unique weather center, the World Trade Center now has a wide range of weather data that can serve as a valuable resource for the community, researchers and weather- dependent operations such as local aviation.

In addition to helping the larger community, the data will help the World Trade Center to be even more resilient. For example, the Operations team actively monitors local wind conditions to help determine whether to secure exterior doors on campus; they also watch for local snow precipitation to prepare and mobilize for snow removal.

The team also tracks emergent weather conditions that may cause leaks or flooding. If heavy rain is expected in the area, they can prepare for potential leaks and may deploy flood protection systems around the campus. This first weather center built specifically for the World Trade Center provides valuable local weather data and insights to support world-class facility operations and customer experience.

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