Meteorological observation systems

If you have ever hiked through the mountains of Andorra, you may have come across an antenna or pole equipped with sensors and a small white box, and wondered what they measure and who they belong to.

Andorra currently has more than 30 meteorological stations with different characteristics depending on their location and the purpose for which they were designed. These stations automatically, independently, and continuously record atmospheric and snow-related variables, providing data on temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, radiation, snow, and soil temperature. This information is essential for understanding the country’s climate and natural environment.

There are different types of measurement stations. The Meners station, for example, is a high-mountain station used for avalanche prevention affecting roads, in collaboration with Nivorisk and the Government of Andorra. This station is also used to monitor snow and weather episodes, avalanche activity, and to validate the SNOWPACK model.
Other measurement systems include low-cost temperature and humidity sensors (Tinytags), distributed throughout the central valley to monitor a vertical profile from the valley floor up to 2100 m as part of the MIRANDA project.

Recently, in collaboration with other institutions, a lightning-detection station has been installed. The Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) station is a radio-frequency instrument that detects the very-high-frequency (VHF) emissions produced by intra-cloud lightning. This is the first station of its kind in Andorra and forms part of the LLAMPEC network of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia and the atmospheric electricity research group of Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), which includes more than 20 stations across Catalonia. This new station will improve the detection of electrical activity and the study of extreme weather events in the Pyrenees.

The maintenance and proper functioning of meteorological observation systems are essential for the country. The observed data are used in numerous applications and projects at Andorra Recerca + Innovació, such as climate-change studies, the analysis of extreme events like heatwaves or storms, the forest-fire danger bulletin, snow-pack monitoring, meteorological modelling, and for supporting strategic sectors such as energy, biodiversity conservation, and planetary health, among other environmental and scientific applications.