The Mesonet was established in the Anchorage area to supplement an already established network of weather stations located at airports. It consists of a network of weather stations provided by local businesses, fire stations, schools, and private homes. These automated observations are essential to forecasters at the National Weather Service Anchorage Forecast Office, provide a service to the community, as well as offer a unique educational tool to area schools.

The obvious benefits from the Mesonet are evident at the NWS Anchorage Forecast Office every day. Meteorologists are on duty 24 hours a day monitoring weather conditions over our 640,000 square mile forecast area. The Mesonet is an essential part of the local weather watch. Forecasters utilize the network to add understanding to the very complex local weather patterns. Although Anchorage has four airports that report local conditions, the additional weather observations located at area schools, businesses, and private homes help forecasters understand micro scale conditions such as the Turnagain Arm and hillside wind as well as localized cold pockets on clear, calm, winter nights. This knowledge serves as a foundation to making a more accurate forecast taking into account these local effects.

As the Mesonet has expanded to the MatSu Valley and the Kenai Peninsula so has its many uses. In the past, the network of stations in the MatSu Valley has provided state and local agencies critical data regarding the fire potential during the summer months. Two weather elements that are essential to an accurate fire weather forecast are relative humidity and wind measurements. Local observations with these elements provided by the Mesonet will insure the proper agencies can monitor the potential hazard for the surrounding communities. This information will continue to be invaluable to time critical decisions regarding the fire hazard.