CHS engineering students partner with non-profit to monitor for severe weather

Published 11:29 am Friday, December 8, 2023

Cullman City Schools is partnering with a weather institute to host a cutting-edge weather monitoring station on campus, with students taking the opportunity to gain some real-world Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills along the way.

Cullman High School and the Baron Critical Weather Institute have installed a weather station on the school campus. The station marks the first in Cullman County to be managed by the Baron Institute, an Alabama-based weather non-profit establishing a “WeatherNet” to monitor the skies for inclement conditions all across the state.

“We’d like to continue to raise awareness about the project and eventually get up to 10-15 stations in every county for a high-density weather net,” said Bob Baron, president and CEO of the Baron Critical Weather Institute. “The system can track precipitation, overnight lows and daytime highs. The information is also publicly available for anyone to access.”

School officials say the project will benefit the community by providing updates on the current weather conditions in the area. The weather station is also equipped with a live feed camera that will allow local officials, as well as the public, to track incoming severe weather as it approaches Cullman County live in real-time.

“A project like this is a great opportunity for our students to get real world experience solving real world problems,” said CHS Foundations of Engineering Teacher Mike Gay. “They’re able to learn the methods and techniques, and the monitoring and troubleshooting.”

The weather station project also provides educational benefits for students, as data provided by the weather station can be utilized as a resource by science teachers and provide an innovative, local outlet to meet state standards in relation to weather studies.

“This is an outside the box project and I’m so proud for us to be a part of it,” Cullman City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said. “We have a school board that encourages and expects innovation, so when these opportunities come up we don’t hesitate.”

Cullman City Schools’ Engineering program also works with the Baron Institute to build the enclosures that house the weather station systems via 3D printing, which is a great showcase throughout the state of the work and training being done as part of the district’s career technical education programs.

“Cullman High School’s Career Tech Engineering Program was selected to complete the engineering design and 3D printing of the weather stations that are housed throughout Alabama,” said Cullman City Schools Career and Technical Education Coordinator Lindsay Brannon. “Students in Mike Gay’s Engineering Program get an in-depth, real-world learning experience and have an impact on the weather community to fulfill Baron Institute’s mission to provide world-class instrumentation in support of Public Safety, Educational Outreach, and Economic Development.”