Quantum Weather™ Fact Sheet
AmerenUE and Saint Louis University’s (SLU) Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences have entered into a partnership for development and operation of a more precise weather monitoring, forecasting and response system—Quantum Weather.    Quantum Weather—another part of UE’s Project Power On reliability initiative—can pinpoint severe weather activity on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis. The detailed information from this pioneering system will improve reliability for customers by enabling UE to respond and restore power more quickly following damaging storms and improve efficiencies through better utilization of its restoration crews.
System Overview
	Continuous neighborhood-by-neighborhood monitoring Quantum Weather will include a network of up to 100 weather stations deployed in key locations throughout UE’s service area that will measure temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall rates. UE already has 50 weather stations installed. The weather stations are solar powered and continuously feed information to SLU’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
	Proprietary analytical tools Using the analysis tools and computer models created by SLU researchers, the Quantum Weather system produces highly detailed maps indicating areas most at risk for severe weather. Quantum Weather offers detailed information that combines analysis of weather conditions, the locations of overhead power lines, data on the density of vegetation—all to give UE a better understanding of where and when customers are most at risk of service disruptions during storms.
	Early warning/Rapid response With this extremely detailed, minute-by-minute information, UE will be able to anticipate trouble areas hours in advance of storms and deploy crews rapidly to impacted neighborhoods.
	Improved efficiency and restoration time The Quantum Weather system can show UE where crews should be concentrated based on the severity and detailed location of damage—speeding up power restoration and helping the company better predict restoration times. In addition, this new system should help UE better identify facilities that are most vulnerable to outages so that those facilities might be considered for projects under Power On.
How the New System is Different
	Current weather tracking systems are unable to distinguish what's happening in individual neighborhoods. Some systems have monitors that are more than 100 miles apart and provide information only on an hour-by-hour basis. Hours in advance of severe storms, Quantum Weather will provide minute-by-minute data on individual cells within storms—including wind fields—that can cause damage to trees and power lines, resulting in power outages. Quantum Weather is the first-of-its-kind weather monitoring and response system in the country.
System Monitors
	The weather stations constantly transmit data wirelessly to a central computer that evaluates the threat of severe weather. A solar battery stores power and provides power for operations during the night and on cloudy days. Each monitor is adjusted for specific local conditions, like nearby buildings that can affect the wind.
SLU Researchers
	Robert Pasken, PhD, Professor of Meteorology
	William Dannevik, PhD, Chairman, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
	Ben Abel, Professor of Meteorology
	Timothy Eichler, PhD, Professor of Meteorology
	A key component is the development by SLU researchers of unique software that provides forecasts in near-real-time and on a very local scale. This system also benefits from the availability of broadband digital and wireless communications, the development of low-cost, easily deployed weather sensors and the advent of more cost-effective high-performance computing systems.
UE/SLU Partnership
	Scientists from SLU’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences brought their analytical technology to the UE’s attention to help the company better understand and respond to severe weather. UE saw the potential to improve response time following storms, earlier identification of storm-damaged areas and potential for improved customer service. The company decided to provide financial support for the program and partner with the university on potential future commercial applications.