LPJ Staff Report
RUSTON — Residents of Lincoln Parish will soon have access to real-time weather and environmental data from a new high-definition weather camera being installed atop the Lincoln Parish Courthouse as part of an expansion by Digital Weather Desk.
Digital Weather Desk Chief Meteorologist Jarod Floyd said the project is a partnership with Weather Logic and will provide around-the-clock weather monitoring for Ruston and the surrounding area.
“We’re really excited about partnering with Weather Logic,” Floyd said. “These weather cameras are high definition, constantly streaming 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
The camera system will do more than provide live video feeds. Each installation includes a full weather station capable of collecting and displaying temperature, dew point, wind speed and direction, wind gusts, rainfall totals and lightning detection data.
According to Floyd, the new site will help fill a gap in localized weather information.
“For a lot of areas, it’s very important to have lightning detection,” Floyd said. “Now we go from only having our local airports that provide information to having sites within our community that are providing information.”
The Ruston camera is expected to be installed during the week of June 22, weather permitting. Once connected, the system will begin transmitting data immediately.
“It’ll go live as soon as we hook it up,” Floyd said.
Digital Weather Desk evaluated several potential locations before settling on the courthouse. Floyd said he initially considered the Lincoln Parish Library because of its proximity to areas affected by the April 2019 tornado that struck Ruston. However, the location did not provide the best view of downtown.
After discussions with the Lincoln Parish Police Jury, the City of Ruston and other local agencies, the courthouse emerged as the preferred site because of its elevation and central location.
“It’s a very high point in the middle of town,” Floyd said. “It gets a phenomenal view, but also we can see weather events and how they’re impacting things like the Peach Festival. We can have lightning data for downtown events and heat stress information for summertime events.”
Floyd credited the Lincoln Parish Police Jury and Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker for helping guide the project and identify a suitable location.
He also praised Southern States Equipment, which is sponsoring the Ruston camera and has assisted Digital Weather Desk with equipment needs for other installations in the region.
“Southern States Equipment has been wonderful to us,” Floyd said. “They’ve just been so kind and so generous. We’re looking forward to working with them.”
The Ruston installation will be accompanied by a second camera at Lake D’Arbonne, expanding Digital Weather Desk’s regional network from two cameras to four.
All camera feeds and weather data will be available free of charge through Digital Weather Desk’s website and mobile app.
“The most important thing is this information, the camera, the weather information, all of it will be forward-facing and 100% free,” Floyd said. “Anybody can access it whenever they want.”
For more information on local weather forecasts, go to DigitalWeatherDesk.com.
