sentences:  An on-board computer takes readings from several instruments measuring temperature, humidity, wind speed & direction, and atmospheric pressure, as well as soil temperature and moisture, and other environmental variable deemed important to the mission of the mesonet, solar irradiance being a common non-meteorological parameter.The computer periodically saves these data to memory and transmits the observations to a base station via radio, telephone (wireless or landline), or satellite transmission.Advancements in computer technology and wireless communications in recent decades made possible the collection of mesonet data in real-time.