Overview
- Teams from the University of Oklahoma, Meteomatics and Mesonet held public demonstrations near Purcell on July 30–31 that completed the first widely shown test flights of vertical‑profiling drones.
- The drones, including OU’s CopterSonde and Meteomatics platforms, measure temperature, humidity, wind and pressure while flying straight up and down to heights around 1 kilometer or up to about 10,000 feet.
- Operators say the systems climb faster than weather balloons and can be launched multiple times per day or targeted to specific areas where forecasters need extra data.
- The technology is still early‑stage: flights currently require on‑site staff and oversight, with teams working to add remote operation and full autonomy before routine, large‑scale use.
- Planners intend to roll the drones into select Mesonet sites such as Bixby and ultimately build a ‘3D Mesonet’ that layers these vertical profiles onto Oklahoma’s dense surface network to improve warnings and daily operations.