Fresno City College has a new weather station

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A new weather station is feeding real-time data to Fresno City College students, staff and local scientists.

You may notice the new addition on the roof of the school's science building.

"Weather forecasts always start with good observations and analyzing observed data," said Geography instructor Sean Boyd.

"This is one of those places where data is observed. Before, there weren't any real-time weather observations coming near downtown Fresno."

The station has been operational all semester and reports data straight to the National Weather Service.

Every 15 minutes, students get a live update on campus and can use that data for their own work.

"To see a weather station here where they can actually walk by in the corridor and see the data displayed on the screen makes it real for them," continued Boyd.

It also provides a vital tool for local forecasters.

"The more information we get that can help with forecasting, it can also help with climatology," explained ABC30 Chief Meteorologist Kevin Musso.

"So we know how much rain we've got. If you're not under the right cloud at the right time you may not be able to document that. Weather stations document that."

Working with other stations in the area, including one at the Fresno air terminal, it helps provide the most accurate picture of weather across the Central Valley.

"Because the National Weather Service gets the data, they can fold it into the information we're using and that makes our local forecast that much more accurate," continued Musso.

The $2,000 station was funded by a grant from Chevron.