All three of the SCCF Marine Lab’s River, Estuary, and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) weather stations dismantled by Hurricane Ian are now back online following the installation last week of the Redfish Pass station.

Established in 2007, the RECON network was enhanced with the addition of these weather stations in 2012 through a grant funded by the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) and Lee County to provide boaters with real-time, accurate information as it relates to conditions on the water.

“These stations became the first on-water weather stations in our area,” said Research Assistant Rachel Wynn. “The data these stations collect is really important, not only to provide mariners with the most up-to-date information, but also to monitor approaching storm events.”

In September 2022, Hurricane Ian completely knocked down the Redfish Pass and Fort Myers channel markers where those two stations were mounted. The Gulf of Mexico station’s steel piling survived, but the storm surge and 20-plus foot waves ripped all of the station components off of it.

Before the instrumentation was lost in Ian, one of the last transmissions from the Redfish Pass site reported wind speeds of 125 mph.

Following Ian, the team established a new weather station on the Marine Lab building, located on Tarpon Bay, with the aim of filling the data gap until the lost stations could be replaced.

Understanding the value of this network, WCIND awarded the Marine Lab a new grant through Lee County to replace the lost weather stations.

“We have been strategically working towards getting these stations reconstructed and back online,” said Wynn. “Unlike a weather station you might have in your yard, the RECON stations are custom designed and built.”

The stations utilize commercially available sensors that are then customized to work with the RECON data loggers. Additionally, custom mounting systems for each part needed to be designed and fabricated. 

Last week, the team completed the installation of the fourth and final weather station at Redfish Pass, situated right off the channel on piling number 39.

“With the Redfish Pass installation and the existing Fort Myers, Gulf of Mexico, and the Marine Lab stations, we’re happy to report the completion of our weather monitoring network,” said Wynn.

Data from these stations is publicly available in near real-time on the RECON website.