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Frequently Asked Questions

A mesonet is a network of automated weather stations that provides high definition weather coverage: areas of just a few hundred square miles and time intervals of several times per hour. This can be contrasted with the typical coverage that is thousands of square miles and hourly. Mesonets excel in providing high precision data particularly with highly variable elements like wind and precipitation.
Sponors play an important role in keeping the Mesonet running. Coops, businesses, water authorities, even private individuals sponsor stations to get data for agricultural spraying, watershed management and as a community outreach opportunity. Contact Us about sponsoring a new or existing station in your area.
Mesonet stations use gauges intended to measure rainfall. In the event of snow, hail or other frozen/freezing precipitation, underreporting and delayed reporting can occur. If the current day’s low temperature is below freezing a warning will appear next to the reported rainfall to warn of this possibility.
Frost depth is the deepest occurrence of 32° F in the soil profile. Most Mesonet stations report calculated frost depth from the temperature readings of five sensors at depths of 2, 4, 8, 20 and 40 inches under sod. Note that 4 inch bare soil temperature is not used in the determination of frost depth.
Mesonet pressure is altimeter (pressure adjusted for elevation). The trend (falling, steady or rising) is three hour.
This value combines heat index (temperatures 80° F and higher and relative humidities 40% or higher), wind chill (temperatures 50° F and lower and wind speeds over 3 mph), and temperature (for all other cases).
The mesonet provides some more details (such as location, closest city, start and end dates) on our Station Information page.

Terms of Use

The South Dakota Mesonet (“Mesonet”) and associated web sites strive to bring high-quality service to all constituents in resource management, agriculture, industry, research, and the media. These services are made possible by the work of the Mesonet employees and with the participation of our sponsors.
Acceptance of the Agreement.
All users of the Mesonet agree to comply and be bound by the following terms of use. Please review the following terms and if you do not agree with these terms you should not review or utilize any information provided by the Mesonet. User agrees to the terms and conditions outlined in this Agreement with respect to the use of the site (“Site”) and any data and information (“Information”) provided. This Agreement embodies the entire understanding of the Parties regarding the Site and Information and supersedes all previous communications, representations or understandings, either oral or written, between the Parties relating to such subject matter. No amendment or modification of this Agreement will be valid or binding upon the Parties unless made in writing and signed by the Parties hereto.
Disclaimers of Warranty.
Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, unless otherwise noted, the Information presented on climate.sdstate.edu are not reviewed and should be considered preliminary. Information reviewed by a climatologist are available on request (click here regarding data requests).BY USING THIS WEBSITE, YOU AGREE THAT THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, THE SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS, AND SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY ("MESONET PARTIES") ARE NOT LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OF THE OBSERVATIONS AND PRODUCTS, THE RELIABILTY OF THE NETWORK, OR ANY DECISIONS MADE AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IS “AS IS” AND MESONET PARTIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM ANY COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SCOPE, VALIDITY OR ENFORCEABILITY OF THE INFORMATION OR THAT THE USE, SALE, OR OFFER OF THE INFORMATION WILL NOT INFRINGE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. IN NO EVENT WILL MESONET PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS OR EXPECTED SAVINGS OR OTHER ECONOMIC LOSSES, OR FOR INJURY TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION. MESONET PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY COMPUTER RELATED PROBLEMS OR VIRUS THAT USERS MAY INCUR WHEN ACCESS INFORMATION OR THE SITE. ANY USER OF INFORMATION OR ANY PRODUCTS ARISING OUT OF THIS INFORMATION ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK TO THEIR USE.

If you believe any information to be incorrect, please contact us immediately.
Copyright and Trademarks.
All Mesonet observations, products, content, materials, graphics, organization, and any other matters related to the Information and/or Site are the property of the South Dakota Board of Regents and as such protected under all applicable copyright laws. Unauthorized redistribution for commercial, non-profit, individual, academic or other purposes is prohibited without the written consent of the South Dakota Mesonet. Use of the Information is allowed for the following media with the proper attribution:

  1. in radio and television broadcasts, verbal use of data with verbal attribution “Mesonet” (meh-zoh-net);
  2. in television broadcast, on screen use of data with verbal attribution “Mesonet” (meh-zoh-net) and on screen attribution “South Dakota Mesonet”;
  3. in print media, use of data with attribution "South Dakota Mesonet” and address of Site (mesonet.sdstate.edu);
  4. automated collection (“scraping”) or redistribution of Mesonet data is prohibited.
Citations.
Use of South Dakota Mesonet data should be cited as follows:
South Dakota Mesonet, South Dakota State University. (2024). South Dakota Mesonet Database [database].

South Dakota State University has certain trademarks registered for names, logos, and other University business. Under no circumstances will User use these trademarks or imply the endorsement of the University without prior written consent of the other in each separate case.
Last revised: 8/17/2020