An alert system that will notify users either by text message or by email when temperatures become critically low will be deployed Nov. 1. The Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN) conducted a pilot project to test the system at two sites last winter. More than 500 users registered to receive the messages during the season and reported they were happy with the results. This winter, the alerts will be available from all 36 of FAWN’s sites around the state. A subscription is required and costs $50 per season for text message alerts, $20 for email alerts, or $60 for both.
Those who register will receive a series of four alerts on nights when temperatures are critically low. The first alert occurs when the temperature falls to within two degrees of the user-selected critical temperature. A second occurs when the temperature hits the user-selected temperature. A third occurs when the temperature rises to the Wet Bulb Based Irrigation Cutoff Temperature for that site, and the final alert comes when the FAWN site temperature equals the Wet Bulb Based Irrigation Cutoff. The notifications allow production managers to make decisions for freeze protection as quickly as possible and also to save water and energy in the field.
Further information can be received by registering for the FAWN email list.