RECON weather stations back online after Ian
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) reported that all three of its Marine Lab’s River, Estuary, and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) weather stations dismantled by Hurricane Ian are back online following a recent installation of the Redfish Pass station.
Established in 2007, the RECON network was enhanced with the addition of the weather stations in 2012 through a grant funded by the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) and Lee County to provide boaters with real-time, accurate information as it relates to conditions on the water.
“These stations became the first on-water weather stations in our area,” research assistant Rachel Wynn said. “The data these stations collect is really important, not only to provide mariners with the most up-to-date information, but also to monitor approaching storm events.”
In September of 2022, Ian completely knocked down the Redfish Pass and Fort Myers channel markers where two stations were mounted. The Gulf station’s steel piling survived, but the storm surge and 20-plus foot waves ripped all of the station components off of it.
Before the instrumentation was lost in the hurricane, one of the last transmissions from the Redfish Pass site reported wind speeds of 125 mph.
Following Ian, the team established a new weather station at the Marine Lab building, located on Tarpon Bay on Sanibel, with the aim of filling the data gap until the lost stations could be replaced.
The SCCF reported that understanding the value of the network, WCIND awarded the Marine Lab a new grant through the county to replace the lost weather stations.
“We have been strategically working towards getting these stations reconstructed and back online,” she said. “Unlike a weather station you might have in your yard, the RECON stations are custom designed and built.”
The stations utilize commercially available sensors that are then customized to work with the RECON data loggers. Additionally, custom mounting systems for each part is needed to be designed and fabricated.
Recently, the team completed the installation of the fourth and final weather station at the Redfish Pass, situated right off the channel on piling number 39.
“With the Redfish Pass installation and the existing Fort Myers, Gulf and the Marine Lab stations, we’re happy to report the completion of our weather monitoring network,” Wynn said.
To view the real-time RECON data, visit https://recon.sccf.org/weather.