Pennsylvania’s new monitoring stations will better alert residents to floods and other weather events

Pennsylvania is on track to install 30 new weather stations across the state by this time next year, allowing meteorologists and emergency officials the ability to better track severe weather and flooding and provide more timely alerts to the public.

The upgrade to the Pennsylvania Integrated Flood Warning and Observation System — IFLOWS 2.0 — is part of an ongoing collaborative effort between the commonwealth, Penn State University, local schools, and federal agencies.

The upgraded network will be placed largely on school properties and will align with new K-12 weather-related curriculum,

The Shapiro administration on Wednesday highlighted the enhanced network, which will provide real-time weather information and alerting tools to emergency managers, the National Weather Service and the public.

“Flooding is the top natural hazard in the Commonwealth, and enhancing detection and providing early warning are critical tools to prevent loss of life,” said PEMA Director Randy Padfield, who joined several state and local officials at Greencastle-Antrim School District in Greenfield to announce the collaboration.

“The enhancement of the IFLOWS will provide emergency managers and forecasters advanced notification for conditions that may lead to flooding or other natural hazards, giving the public extra time to take safe action.”

The upgrade comes amid increasingly extreme and hazardous weather, and flooding across Pennsylvania.

The public will be able to access the information on weather conditions and alerts at sites across the Commonwealth through the Keystone Mesonet.

The network upgrade — known as the Pennsylvania Environmental Monitoring Network — is being completed by Penn State University.

The 30 new weather stations will tie into Penn State’s recently installed weather network of 20 stations, for a total of 50 high-quality weather sensors across 38 counties. The stations will be installed by August 2026.

The information will be supplemented by data from several other agencies, including the PennDOT, Conservation and Natural Resources, and Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Paul Markowski, head of Penn State’s Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, said the network exemplifies the land-grant mission of Penn State.

“These weather stations not only strengthen Pennsylvania’s capacity to respond to severe weather but also provide unique educational opportunities for K—12 students to engage with real-time data in their own backyards,” he said.

Access to real-time weather information from remote areas will allow the National Weather Service to provide more timely severe weather warnings and life-saving information, officials said.

Quick access to reliable weather observations is essential to the National Weather Service forecast and warning process, said Ashley Evans, meteorologist with the National Weather Service State College.

“Real-time observational data provided by these new IFLOWS stations help to provide our forecasters with timely information to issue warnings, so our partners and the public have as much lead time as possible to prepare, make decisions, and take necessary action to protect lives and property due to impacts from any weather event,” she said.

Greencastle-Antrim School District will continue to develop a state standard-based K-12 weather curriculum with Penn State University, officials said.

The weather stations — the majority installed on school properties — will provide students hands-on learning opportunities.

The new K-12 curriculum uses the weather data from the monitoring system to teach concepts in science, technology, engineering and math.

“Our students will benefit from opportunities to use the same data forecasters are using to study weather patterns and will develop an understanding of the relationship between the many partners using the data to help us all plan for weather events,” said Greencastle-Antrim superintendent Lura Hank. “We are excited to continue our work as we build our district’s environmental literacy plan so our students have a comprehensive understanding of our earth, and the steps they can take to care for it.”