EMU Today

“I wonder what the weather looks like there.”

Those cold, snowy mornings in the middle of winter will no longer be a mystery to commuting staff and students and others at Eastern Michigan University.

A campus weather station, located on the roof of the Mark Jefferson Science Complex, now offers a grand view of campus conditions, along with a variety of other data that can track our area’s ever-changing weather picture.

Want to know what conditions are like on campus when you're having trouble getting out of your driveway in Canton? Deciding what shoes to wear, or whether to drive or take a bus? Check the weather station.

The station has observations of precipitation, relative humidity, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, a lightning detection array, and an HD camera that provides streaming time-lapse views of the walkway and surrounding buildings from the Mark Jefferson Science Complex to the Student Center.

The station is part of the Weather Bug network of more than 8,000 weather stations around the country, and can be seen at its specific Weather Bug link or by a downloadable app for Android and IOS systems.

The weather station, which became operational last year, has been installed to support research and laboratory courses taught in the Earth Science, Earth Science Education, and the Environmental Science and Society Interdisciplinary (ENVI) programs, said Tom Kovacs, a professor of meteorology at Eastern and director of the ENVI program.

“The departments of athletics, biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy, and mathematics have also expressed interest in weather data to support instruction, research, and safety,” Kovacs said.

Before now, Eastern had only a precipitation gauge at its National Weather Service cooperative weather station outside of Strong Hall. To get a sense of the new weather station’s capabilities and its instruments, see the drone video of the station and surrounding areas.

There is also a display case with the station’s weather data in the basement (rock level) of The Mark Jefferson Building and in the Oceanography, Climatology, and Weather Lab in 217 Mark Jefferson.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 20,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.