Real-Time Weather Data Available for Delta Farmers

Since 1998, the Delta Agricultural Weather Center has provided historical and up-to-date weather information and data. MSPB supports this program as a source of real-time weather updates along with many other features, such as crop recommendations, a complete list of station sites and direct links to crop-specific resources.

Two years after the Stoneville National Weather Service closed its doors, the Delta Agricultural Weather Center was up and running in Stoneville, Mississippi, with just three on-farm sites recording weather information. Today, the station consists of 19 fixed stations and 20 additional seasonal stations. Data collection stations are located throughout the Delta region, with a few located in the eastern region of the state. However, new stations continue to be added to the project to provide comprehensive data for the center. The center’s purpose is to aid farmers in making agricultural decisions by providing a complete and accurate historical record of weather data and products that are kept up-to-date. The weather data on the site is updated in real time, every 15 minutes.

The Delta Agricultural Weather Center offers a variety of tools and resources to help those involved in Mississippi agriculture.

• Ag Weather Tools — Explore crop planting recommendations. Soybeans, corn and cotton all have individual planting recommendations. Here, charts clearly label a series of dates and the chance of frost after emergence, and color coordinate the two variables on a map of Mississippi.

• Stations — Review a complete list of station locations and data. Each station provides the temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind speed and direction along with the time and date that it was last updated, which is every 15 minutes. The Map tab on the Delta Agricultural Weather Center website shows the geographic location of each of the stations listed.

• Crop Links — Find quick links to additional resources. Connect easily with resources to consider all year. Third-party websites include the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, and Futures Market Quotes for Soybeans, Cotton, Corn, Rice and Wheat.

See the data and soybean-specific resources mentioned in the Delta Agricultural Weather Center.