Microclimate Frost &
Heat Risk Monitoring.
Radiation frost and extreme heatwaves are hyper-localized microclimate events. Broad regional forecasts frequently miss localized cold air drainage into valley hollows or intense solar radiation loads on canopy foliage. Véraison provides growers with localized in-canopy temperature, humidity, wind, and pyranometer data to help evaluate risks and time protective measures.
Thermal Slope
Hourly Rate of Cooling
Wet-Bulb Temp
Evaporative Freeze Threshold
Anemometer
Air Stillness & Drainage
Alerting
Threshold Notifications
Why regional weather reports diverge during radiation frost.
Official forecasts measure conditions at open airfields or high towers. Radiation frost forms in microclimate hollows, where cold, dense air flows downhill and pools. A valley basin can reach sub-zero temperatures while an airport station kilometers away reports temperatures comfortably above freezing.
Canopy Temperature Slope
Measures ambient and canopy-level temperature at trellis height where vulnerable buds and young shoots sit, rather than at distant regional weather towers.
Wet-Bulb Temperature
Calculates wet-bulb temperature from dry-bulb and relative humidity readings. Critical for overhead sprinkler operations, where dry air can chill plant tissue below ambient temperatures.
Barometric Trend
Tracks stable high-pressure systems associated with clear skies and calm night winds—the classic atmospheric setup for severe radiational frost formation.
Wind Speed & Direction
Monitors whether conditions are calm enough for cold air pooling, and assists in confirming whether a warmer thermal inversion layer aloft is present for wind machine circulation.
Phases of a nocturnal frost event.
Radiation frost follows a progressive physical sequence from clear-sky radiational cooling through cold air pooling and eventual morning recovery.
Initial Thermal Decay Slope
As the sun sets and solar radiation drops to zero, the ground and plant canopy radiate heat into space. In-canopy sensors establish the initial cooling slope, indicating how quickly temperatures are falling.
Dew Point Depression & Air Drainage
Relative humidity and wind speed data track the approach toward the dew point. In calm conditions (< 3 km/h), heavy cold air drains into topographical depressions and hollows, creating localized freezing pockets.
Wet-Bulb Temperature Approach
Calculates the true temperature wet plant tissue reaches. When relative humidity is low, evaporative cooling can drive bud temperatures below the dry-bulb reading, signaling the threshold for activating mitigation.
Real-Time Verification & Shutdown
Live field readings allow operators to confirm that wind machines or sprinklers have stabilized temperatures at canopy height, and verify when morning sun has lifted temperatures safely above freeze risk.
Monitoring solar radiation load and heat stress.
While spring frost threatens early shoot and blossom tissue, midsummer heatwaves and extreme solar radiation load present severe risks of sunburn, berry shrivel, and stomatal closure.
By combining a Light & Solar Radiation (Pyranometer) sensor with ambient canopy temperature and relative humidity telemetry, Véraison tracks instantaneous solar flux (W/m²) and Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD). This data provides growers with advance visibility when intense radiation intersects with elevated heat.
Engineered for continuous field operation.
Agricultural weather stations must operate through cold winter nights and remote field conditions without constant maintenance intervention.
Automated Notifications
Configurable threshold alerts dispatch SMS and automated call notifications directly to managers when field temperatures drop toward critical levels.
Solar & Battery Buffer
Each Véraison node is powered by an integrated solar panel paired with an internal rechargeable battery buffer designed for sustained winter operation.
Sub-GHz Field Radio
Nodes transmit sensor telemetry over a low-frequency radio link back to the central base station, designed to penetrate canopy foliage and undulating terrain.
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