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Citizen Weather Observer Program
The Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) is a network of privately owned electronic weather stations concentrated in the United States but also located in over 150 countries. Network participation allows volunteers with computerized weather stations to send automated surface weather observations to the National Weather Service (NWS) by way of the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS). This data is then used by the Rapid Refresh (RAP) forecast model to produce short term forecasts (3 to 12 hours into the future) of conditions across the contiguous United States. Observations are also redistributed to the public. Origin The CWOP was originally set up by amateur radio operators experimenting with packet radio, but now includes Internet-only connected stations, as well as amateur radio Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) stations. , more than 13,000 stations worldwide report regularly to the network. Description The Citizen Weather Observer Program is a progra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weather Forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th century. Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere, land, and ocean and using meteorology to project how the atmosphere will change at a given place. Once calculated manually based mainly upon changes in barometric pressure, current weather conditions, and sky condition or cloud cover, weather forecasting now relies on computer-based models that take many atmospheric factors into account. Human input is still required to pick the best possible forecast model to base the forecast upon, which involves pattern recognition skills, teleconnections, knowledge of model performance, and knowledge of model biases. The inaccuracy of forecasting is due to the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safecast (organization)
Safecast is an international, volunteer-centered organization devoted to open citizen science for environmental monitoring. Safecast was established by Sean Bonner, Pieter Franken, and Joi Ito shortly after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, following the TÅhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 and manages a global open data network for ionizing radiation and air quality monitoring. The Safecast team, with help of International Medcom, Tokyo hackerspace, and other volunteers, has designed varioudevicesfor radiation mapping. Haiyan Zhang developed a widely used interactive map of radiation levels around Japan, and was a mapping consultant in the formative phase of Safecast. The Geiger counter-like devices developed include the bGeigie and bGeigie Nano for mobile applications (carborne and walking measurements) as well as fixed stations called Pointcast. Despite being a citizen science project, professional quality and scientific grade data was sought from the onset, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skywarn
Skywarn (sometimes stylized as SKYWARN) is a program of the National Weather Service (NWS). Its mission is to collect reports of localized severe weather in the United States. These reports are used to aid forecasters in issuing and verifying severe weather watches and warnings and to improve the forecasting and warning processes and the tools used to collect meteorological data. Reports are also used by local emergency managers and public safety organizations. Skywarn consists of a network of severe storm spotters who observe weather conditions and make reports of severe weather to their local NWS offices. These spotters are regularly trained by personnel from the local NWS offices. In many areas, classes are conducted each spring in advance of the coming severe weather season. Many SKYWARN spotters use methods to communicate with one another during severe storm events. A notable example of this is through the use of amateur radio nets, which is still an important method since s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Significant Weather Observing Program
The Significant Weather Observing Program (SWOP) was created at the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Central Illinois in order to provide forecasters with additional data during and after significant weather events. See also * Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) * Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) * Skywarn * Cooperative Observer The NOAA Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is a citizen weather observer network run by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) and National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Over 8,700 volunteers from the fifty states and all territ ... Program References External links SWOP website Meteorological data and networks {{climate-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooperative Observer
The NOAA Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is a citizen weather observer network run by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) and National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Over 8,700 volunteers from the fifty states and all territories report at least daily a variety of weather conditions such as daily maximum and minimum temperatures, 24-hour precipitation totals, including snowfall, and significant weather occurrences throughout a day that are recorded via remarks in observer logs. Some stations also report stream stage or tidal levels. Daily observations are reported electronically or over the phone, and monthly logs are submitted electronically or via the mail. Many stations are located in rural areas but the network also includes long-term stations in most urban centers. Observation locations include farms, in urban and suburban areas, National Parks, seashores, and mountaintops. Volunteers are trained by local NWS offices who provide rain gauges, snowsti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail And Snow Network
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS, is a network of volunteer weather observers in the United States, Canada, and the Bahamas that take daily readings of precipitation and report them to a central data store over the internet. The program is an example of citizen science. History The network was started in 1997 in Larimer County, Colorado, after a flash flood in Spring Creek killed five people and damaged structures in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, including hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the Colorado State University campus. The severity of the flood and its widespread spatial variability surprised meteorologists, and former assistant state climatologist for the state of Colorado, Nolan Doesken, asked for precipitation measurements from private citizens in the area. About 300 responded to his emergency request for data. Said Doesken later, "The results of the data showed that more than 14 in. (36 cm) of rain fell over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesonet
In meteorology and climatology, a mesonet, portmanteau of mesoscale network, is a network of automated weather and, often, environmental monitoring stations designed to observe mesoscale meteorological phenomena and/or microclimates. Dry lines, squall lines, and sea breezes are examples of phenomena observed by mesonets. Due to the space and time scales associated with mesoscale phenomena and microclimates, weather stations comprising a mesonet are spaced closer together and report more frequently than synoptic scale observing networks, such as the WMO Global Observing System (GOS) and US ASOS. The term mesonet refers to the collective group of these weather stations, which are usually owned and operated by a common entity. Mesonets generally record in situ surface weather observations but some involve other observation platforms, particularly vertical profiles of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Other environmental parameters may include insolation and various variabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesowest
MesoWest is an ongoing cooperative project, started in 1996, to provide access to current and archive weather observations across the United States. Weather observations include but are not limited to: temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation. Data are collected from a variety of organizations. Some stations participate in voluntary weather observing networks such as the Citizen Weather Observer Program. Others are part of mesonets that are managed by private firms or federal/state/local agencies. These data are available for a multitude of uses. Over 20,000 weather stations actively report to the MesoWest database. Parties involved in this project include researchers at the University of Utah, forecasters at the Salt Lake City National Weather Service Office, the National Weather Service Western Region Headquarters, and personnel of participating agencies, universities, and commercial firms. Support for this project is being provided by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charts the seas, conducts deep sea exploration, and manages fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the U.S. exclusive economic zone. Purpose and function NOAA's specific roles include: * ''Supplying Environmental Information Products''. NOAA supplies to its customers and partners information pertaining to the state of the oceans and the atmosphere, such as weather warnings and forecasts via the National Weather Service. NOAA's information services extend as well to climate, ecosystems, and commerce. * ''Providing Environmental Stewardship Services''. NOAA is a steward of U.S. coastal and marine environments. In coordination with federal, state, local, tribal and international authorities, NOAA manages th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weather Station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation amounts. Wind measurements are taken with as few other obstructions as possible, while temperature and humidity measurements are kept free from direct solar radiation, or insolation. Manual observations are taken at least once daily, while automated measurements are taken at least once an hour. Weather conditions out at sea are taken by ships and buoys, which measure slightly different meteorological quantities such as sea surface temperature (SST), wave height, and wave period. Drifting weather buoys outnumber their moored versions by a significant amount. Weather instruments Typical weather stations have the following instruments: * Thermometer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surface Weather Observation
Surface weather observations are the fundamental data used for safety as well as climatological reasons to forecast weather and issue warnings worldwide. They can be taken manually, by a weather observer, by computer through the use of automated weather stations, or in a hybrid scheme using weather observers to augment the otherwise automated weather station. The ICAO defines the International Standard Atmosphere (ISA), which is the model of the standard variation of pressure, temperature, density, and viscosity with altitude in the Earth's atmosphere, and is used to reduce a station pressure to sea level pressure. Airport observations can be transmitted worldwide through the use of the METAR observing code. Personal weather stations taking automated observations can transmit their data to the United States mesonet through the Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP), the UK Met Office through their Weather Observations Website (WOW), or internationally through the Weat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
