6.1e1 ERMUSR 06-13-20230Et4vOFCMy� U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
pw National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
s WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE TWIN CITIES
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1733 Lake Drive West
Chanhassen, MN 55317-8581
June 5, 2023
Chris Sumstad I Tom Geiser
Elk River Municipal Utilities
1705 Main St.
Elk River, MN 55330-0430
Dear Chris and Tom,
I wanted to express our sincere gratitude to your staff for installing a conduit to make it possible
for the National Weather Service COOP station temperature sensor to be sited on the northeast
side of the property after construction was complete at the new municipal utilities' facility.
Dan Plude, Curt Arndt, Russell Stuhr, Luke Hafften, and Jeremy Lindberg installed a
conduit from the temperature sensor post on the northeast side of the property all the way
underground to the basement floor of the new building, allowing the data box to be placed in the
break room. This made it possible for the temperature sensor to be placed in an area where the
most accurate measurements would be possible after the initial plan to install the sensor on the
west side of the building was changed due to concerns with locating it near the irrigation system.
I want to especially thank Dan Plude for his help with locating an alternate location for the
temperature sensor and offering to put in the conduit to make the installation possible at the new
location. Dan also helped us place the wiring in the break room to make sure that the data box
was in a convenient location for the staff to take daily weather observations.
I also wanted to thank Katy Olson, for providing valuable feedback with finding an alternate
location for the equipment, as well as serving as the main contact for the COOP weather station.
We really appreciate our partnership with your office on the official weather observations for Elk
River via the COOP program. The measurements your staff provides make it possible for us to
provide weather records for the area, as well as monitor real-time and long-term climate trends.
With gratitude,
Michelle Margraf
Observing Program Leader
National Weather Service Twin Cities
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