Archbold Weathers Hurricane Ian
Archbold’s Agroecology Program staff removed the Ranch’s five advanced ‘eddy flux towers’ from pastures, which include large, fragile, solar panels and many delicate sensors. Additionally, they took down 32 rain exclusion shelters, part of a long-term study, from eight pastures. Ranch Operations staff stayed with the cattle and prepared Ranch buildings for the incoming storm. Station staff checked on experiments, brought in equipment, and secured the Station buildings. The path of Hurricane Ian had further shifted by Tuesday evening and some Ranch residents evacuated.
Hurricane Ian made landfall early afternoon on Wednesday 28th September and those sheltering at the Station started watching the storm’s path, checking the radar plots frequently. Archbold’s main weather station started recording tropical storm force max wind gusts around 2pm Wednesday afternoon. By 6pm, Archbold’s weather station started recording hurricane force max wind gusts. Hurricane Ian crossed State Road 70 around 8pm as a category-3 hurricane, during which the Station recorded maximum gusts of up to 96.3 mph. Archbold’s Buck Island Ranch, just East of the Station on State Road 70, recorded maximum gusts of up to 68 mph.
