Cape Breton weather network a labour of love for Dartmouth man
Jonathan Buffett may live and work in Dartmouth, N.S. But ask him about the weather just about anywhere in Cape Breton and he can give you an answer.
Buffett is the volunteer co-ordinator of Cape Breton Mesonet, a network of 45 privately-owned weather stations across the island.
Buffett, 28, bought his first weather station at 15, saving money from an after-school job and setting up a station in Port Hawkesbury.
He said he added a couple more stations in various parts of the island over the next few years.
There's no other little island where you can get all this stuff in one spot. - Jonathan Buffett
"The weather fascinates me," said Buffett, adding that Cape Breton's climate is unique. "Here, you really get everything. You can get really hot weather in the summer, snowstorms, hurricanes, just everything. Insane winds in Chéticamp. There's no other little island where you can get all this stuff in one spot."
But the network really took off when he started working with Environment Canada in 2014 as a meteorological inspector.
In his day job, he sets up and maintains weather stations, just as he does as a hobby after hours.
In his travels for work, he met people across Cape Breton who already owned weather stations and the network quickly expanded.
The organization captures real-time and historical weather data, that's all uploaded to a website — www.capebretonweather.ca.
By comparison, Environment Canada has 10 stations in Cape Breton.
It's citizen science, but it appeals even to professionals.
"It's really caught on," said Fred Baechler.
Baechler and his wife Lynn are hydrogeologists, who carry out water assessments across the island. They invested in their own weather station several years ago and were thrilled to join the Cape Breton group.
Citizen science
Baechler said the collective information allows them to monitor weather data and the impact on the island's water resources.
"It is just great and it's real-time data," said Baechler. "Everybody is getting into citizen science. This is a great way to do it."
Buffett said the hobby requires a significant investment of time. Stations need to be monitored and maintained and the website needs constant attention.
But he said it's a labour of love.
He's tracking weather patterns to monitor climate change in Cape Breton.
He's noted that Sydney receives considerably more sunshine than the western side of the island, which he said is often under cloud cover.
He also hopes the data may benefit the island by encouraging economic development, perhaps in the agricultural sector.
As word spreads of the network, he's received some unusual queries.
"I've had a couple of insurance adjusters call me up after a storm to verify what wind speed was in a certain area," he said.
For now, he said, the network is probably about as big as he can handle.
"Most of my spare time, this is what I'm doing," said Buffett. "But I'm not complaining."
