New Weather Station in Bay of Islands

16-Feb-2005

New Weather Station in Bay of Islands is an Investment

A new weather station has been installed at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. The station has been made possible thanks to the combined efforts of Destination Northland, tourism operators and local business associations.

MetService engineers installed the new mSTAR weather station early this week on the Waitangi National Trust estate, with the co-operation of the farmer who leases the land. MetService will make its data available to media organizations, providing a temperature that, for the Bay of Island tourist, is more representative than any before. Existing stations shall continue to be used for forecasting and climate studies because of the importance of measuring temperature in the same place over many years.

The General Manager of the Copthorne Hotel & Resort Bay of Islands, David Perks, took on the project in late 2004 on behalf of the Bay of Islands Major Operators Group. "This new weather station represents a small investment by a large number of businesses in the Bay of Islands, which we hope will give prospective visitors a better idea of our weather. So many operators were willing to support the project that the final cost dropped to about $200 per business."

Destination Northland manager Robyn Bolton commented: "This is a major achievement and definitely a cause for celebration. More domestic visitors will help Northland to extend its tourism and provide year-round employment opportunities."

According to MetService Weather Ambassador, Bob McDavitt, this new weather station helps everyone. "Our new mSTAR weather stations are now making it possible for concerned citizens to install affordable observing sites that meet the international measuring standards needed by meteorologists."

ENDS

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