USDA-ARS Bushland 15-Minute Weather Data for Crop Water Use Research

Standard Quality Controlled Research Weather Data – USDA-ARS, Bushland, Texas contains 15-minute mean weather data from a research station in Bushland, Texas. The dataset includes air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar irradiance, barometric pressure, and precipitation, collected from 1989 onward and updated through 2023. It was created by Steven R. Evett and originates from research aimed at determining crop water use, growth, and yield.

Use Cases

• Calibrating crop evapotranspiration (ET) models based on 15-minute air temperature, humidity, and solar irradiance data.
• Analyzing irrigation scheduling strategies using long-term precipitation and reference ET data from a semi-arid climate.
• Testing simulation models of crop growth and water productivity using quality-controlled weather variables.
• Studying microclimate effects on agricultural water use from data collected over a maintained grass reference surface.

Strengths

• Data undergoes quality control and assurance methods described by Evett et al. (2018), including sensor replication and intercomparison.
• Precipitation data is derived from large weighing lysimeters, which are described as better rain gages than tipping bucket gages.
• The dataset is updated, with years 2000, 2022, and 2023 added as of 2026-05-26, and it supersedes earlier versions.
• Sensors were maintained under reference conditions as promulgated by Allen et al., with specific irrigation methods noted for different time periods.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling tasks.
• The dataset's 355.8 MB size and mix of PDF and XLSX formats may require specific tools for efficient access and integration.

Provenance

Source

USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Laboratory (CPRL), Soil and Water Management Research Unit (SWMRU) research weather station.

Collection Method

Data collected from sensors at 2-m height over a level, grass reference surface, with gap filling using duplicate sensors, nearby lysimeters, or other stations.

Time Range

Data collection spans from 1989 onward, with specific years like 2000, 2022, and 2023 mentioned.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 15:12:39.

Geography

Bushland, Texas (Lat. 35.186714°, Long. -102.094189°, elevation 1170 m above MSL), a semi-arid region with mean annual precipitation of ~470 mm.