Canadian Mesonet Portal Update (v2024.11.18): Quality Control Filters, Legends, UPEI Mesonet, and More
The Canadian Mesonet Portal has been updated to version 2024.11.18, which introduces significant improvements. These enhancements include automated algorithms for classifying the quality of surface weather station data, legends for each layer, the addition of the UPEI mesonet, and other minor changes. These newly introduced features contribute to enhancing the clarity of the data.
Quality Control Algorithms & Filters
The Canadian Mesonet Portal now uses automated algorithms to classify the quality of surface weather station data. This improvement is critical, as the sheer volume and diversity of data (over 2,700 stations from 30 different networks), make it impossible for human quality control alone to ensure data accuracy. Each station’s data is now automatically assessed, with quality levels indicated as follows:
- Good Measurements: Represented by a green dot, indicating data is reliable.
- Doubtful Measurements: Represented by a yellow dot, indicating potential data quality issues. This indicator usually arises when values are outside of the expected range, but still theoretically possible.
- Incorrect, Missing, or Broken Measurements: Represented by a red dot, signaling data that is incorrect or unavailable.
To improve data usability, we’ve added filtering options that allow users to:
- Hide Broken Stations: This filter (which is automatically enabled when you load the Canadian Mesonet Portal) automatically hides stations with broken or missing data.
- Hide Doubtful Measurements: Provides an option to remove doubtful data points for a clearer analysis.
Legends
The website now incorporates legends for all visible layers that necessitate their inclusion. This encompasses the weather station symbology, as well as the radar, lightning density, and weather alerts layer. Users can conveniently view or conceal the legend by pressing the button situated in the top-left corner.
UPEI Mesonet
We're pleased to announce that new surface weather station data is now available from the University of Prince Edward Island Mesonet (UPEI Mesonet), who operates and maintains a network of 43 automatic weather stations across PEI. Many thanks to Dr. Xander Wang at the UPEI Climate Smart Lab for making this data available on the Canadian Mesonet Portal. If you'd like to learn more about the UPEI Climate Smart Lab, you can do so .
Minor Updates
- In response to user feedback, the cursor on the Canadian Mesonet Portal map has been modified from a hand to a pointer to enhance readability.
- In many instances, wind speed data is obtained from various heights. To standardize these measurements, a power law conversion has been applied to normalize the height to 10 meters.
- The measurement units have been standardized across all mesonets.
- Mobile support has started, enhancing the accessibility of the Canadian Mesonet Portal on iPhone and Android devices. Ongoing enhancements and improvements are anticipated in the near future.
- Currently, we are in the process of developing an API to facilitate the sharing of this data with our key partners. As part of this development, the backend server requires a reset to incorporate the newly implemented variable classification method. Consequently, the past week’s data will be temporarily unavailable on the Canadian Mesonet Portal. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
- Minor bug fixes related to graphing.
These updates improve data clarity, and provide a more efficient way to navigate the large dataset, enabling clearer and more precise data analysis across Canada’s extensive weather station network. If you have any feedback about this update, please email nmp@uwo.ca!
