The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has installed a new automatic weather station in the village of Horst in Limburg province, to measure temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed and direction.
The new weather station is expected to become active in 2025 and will replace the station in Arcen, which has been active since 1990. Before 1990, the weather station of North Limburg was in Venlo. The Arcen station measures various meteorological parameters. For some parameters, such as radiation and temperature, the measurements are increasingly influenced by the changing environment of the station. The weather station is sheltered by growing rows of trees and an asphalt road. Its data is checked and assessed as well as possible by the KNMI to make sure it is as reliable as possible.
The KNMI will continue to receive data from the Arcen weather station until mid-2026, so that the measurements can be compared with the Horst weather station, to understand differences between the two stations and for applications in the field of climate research.
Guidelines from the World Meteorological Organization
The WMO has set guidelines for weather stations to collect the highest-quality data for weather forecasting and climate research.
There are also guidelines for the location of a station. For example, a weather station may not be located near obstacles such as buildings and trees, or near heat sources, such as a lot of asphalt or solar parks. The weather station in Horst aan de Maas is located in a rural area.
Where else is measurement being taken in Limburg?
The KNMI maintains 51 automatic weather stations spread throughout the country, the Caribbean Netherlands and the North Sea. Three are in Limburg. In addition to the new location in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, the weather stations in Ell and Beek (Maastricht Aachen Airport) will continue to operate. Measurements have been taken in Beek since 1946.
In related news, the national meteorological services of Ireland, Denmark, Iceland and the Netherlands have joined forces to respond to climate change with more timely weather forecasting with a new common supercomputer. Click here to read the full story.