PG&E Adds 300 Weather Stations in 2021 to Further Improve Weather Forecasting Capabilities

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that it has surpassed its 2021 goal of installing 300 weather stations two months ahead of schedule and completed its long-term goal of installing more than 1300 total, one station for every 20-line miles in high fire-threat areas, across its service territory. As we head into winter and look to continue rainy and wet conditions throughout Northern California, these weather stations are utilized year-round and will help to further improve weather forecasting capabilities.

Data captured by the weather stations such as temperature, wind speed and humidity levels help PG&E meteorologists evaluate where severe weather may be headed and inform utility operational planning. PG&E’s weather stations now provide the company with one weather station for every 20-line miles of electric distribution circuits within tier-two and tier-three High Fire-Threat Districts, as designated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

“Since 2018 we have installed more than 1300 weather stations to build one of the largest utility-owned weather stations networks in the world allowing us to track temperature, wind speed and humidity in real-time to better serve our customers and communities,” said Scott Strenfel, director of meteorology and fire science, PG&E. “These weather stations help us to better monitor and forecast severe weather threats and inform our operational decisions.”

These more than 1300 weather stations across PG&E's service territory are now sending hyperlocal data not only to PG&E meteorologists, but also to analysts and experts in PG&E's Wildfire Safety Operations Center (WSOC). The WSOC is the hub where PG&E detects, evaluates, monitors, and responds to wildfire threats across its service area.

The information from these stations is also viewable by the public at pge.com/weather and is combined with other weather station information and shared with partners through MesoWest.