R.M. Young Company, a manufacturer of meteorological instruments, and Western Weather Group, a provider of weather information for various weather-sensitive industries, are to host a joint educational webinar titled Powering Safer Grids with Wildfire Forecast Intelligence + Rugged Hardware at 2pm Eastern on February 10, 2026.
The two organizations will stress the importance of accurate forecasting and dependable environmental data to safeguard grid safety, operational planning and public safety power shutoff (PSPS) decision-making as wildfire risk continues to grow across utility service territories.
Webinar attendees will learn how to:
- Apply wildfire forecast intelligence to utility operations and planning;
- Use seasonal and short-term outlooks to support PSPS decisions and mitigation strategies;
- Understand which environmental measurements most influence wildfire risk;
- Recognize why sensor accuracy, durability and uptime are critical in high-risk zones;
- Connect forecasting, field data and operations into decision-ready intelligence.
Western Weather Group will present a 2026 wildfire outlook, highlighting how seasonal and day-ahead forecasts support mitigation planning, field safety and operational readiness. R.M. Young Company will then explore the role of rugged, field-proven weather instrumentation in providing the reliable ground-truth data that forecasting and operational decisions depend on – particularly in remote and wildfire-prone environments.
Designed as an educational session, the webinar aims to help utilities better understand how forecasting, environmental measurement and operational workflows intersect to support safer, more resilient grids.
Speaking at the webinar will be Austin Patrick, a meteorologist at Western Weather Group in Chico, California, who creates and manages private weather station data across California and other US locations, supporting clients in the utility and energy sectors.
He will be joined by Conor Byrne, who leads the engineering department at R.M. Young Company, applying his 15 years of multidisciplinary engineering expertise in product development and manufacturing – particularly for critically rugged and reliable technologies.
The live webinar is free to attend. Click here to register