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Weather information is provided by a wireless Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 Plus weather station. This station includes a rain collector, temperature and humidity sensors, anemometer, UV sensor, and a solar radiation sensor. The temperature and humidity sensors are enclosed in a solar-powered, 24-hour fan-aspirated radiation shield. This shield combines fan aspiration and passive shielding to minimize the effects of solar radiation.

The evapotranspiration rate (ET) is the quantity of water transpired from plants and evaporated from the surrounding soil. KPUD's weather station uses data such as temperature, humidity and wind to calculate ET values and data. The ET rate is expressed in inches of water per day. This is the amount of water that would be required to replace the amount of water lost from transpiration and evaporation. ET varies with the weather and affects how much water is needed when irrigating landscapes. Trees, shrubs and many turf grasses thrive on less than 100% of this ET value.