Mini Weather Stations Are Protecting Companies From Heat Waves, Hurricanes

Businesses are tracking meteorological patterns to prepare for looming threats to their sites and infrastructure

By Clara Hudson of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Companies are eager to keep track of everything from high winds to icing events, said Sarah Kapnick, global head of climate advisory at JPMorgan, who was previously chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There’s very specific information businesses want to gather, for example if there’s a microburst that creates a lot of rain in a short period of time in a small location, she said.

“If they want the best data possible, and if they want control over their data, they should make their own,” Kapnick said.

Specific industries have different needs. The agricultural space, for example, needs to know what’s happening at the soil and plant level. Utilities have to be aware of the potential for downed power lines. 

Duke Energy said it has recently been preparing for another hurricane season by expanding “self-healing” technology to automatically detect power outages and reroute power to other lines to restore service “often in less than a minute.” The technology uses sensors, switches, reclosers and other equipment to isolate a problem, whether that’s a tree on a power line or a broken pole."