MesoWest is an ongoing cooperative project, started in 1996, to provide access to current and archive

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

observations across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Weather observations include but are not limited to:

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

wind speed In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer. Wind speed ...

wind direction Wind direction is generally reported by the direction from which it originates. For example, a ''north'' or ''northerly'' wind blows from the north to the south. The exceptions are onshore winds (blowing onto the shore from the water) and offsho ...

, and

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. Data are collected from a variety of organizations. Some stations participate in voluntary weather observing networks such as the

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 sta ...

. Others are part of

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 ...

s 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 The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, 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

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

Mission

The primary mission of MesoWest is to "promote and support access, storage, and use of weather observations across the nation.”

Access to weather and climate information

Delivery methods have been designed to satisfy varying needs for weather

information visualization Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, ...

. The following is a brief overview of the purpose for each of MesoWest’s available delivery methods: ;Current Weather Summary : Quick and flexible access to current weather conditions in a tabular format. Users are able to view weather conditions locally or at larger scales. ;

Weather Maps A weather map, also known as synoptic weather chart, displays various meteorological features across a particular area at a particular point in time and has various symbols which all have specific meanings. Such maps have been in use since the mi ...

Map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

-based interfaces allow easy access to MesoWest data plotted on surface analyses and/or specialized

topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...

depictions. ;LDM (Local Data Manager) Delivery: Data from MesoWest are disseminated to NWS Forecast Offices via dedicated communication channels for input into

AWIPS The Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) is a technologically advanced processing, display, and telecommunications system that is the cornerstone of the United States National Weather Service's (NWS) operations. AWIPS is a comp ...

. Forecasters are able to superimpose mesonet observations onto

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

, and other products. MesoWest data are also available to universities and government agencies that rely upon the LDM data distribution system. ;Website Downloads : MesoWest data is available for download via the web.

Data Usage and Restrictions

Usage

MesoWest is used operationally by the National Weather Service to monitor weather conditions around the country in order to protect lives and property. MesoWest is also used extensively by researchers to understand

severe weather Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atm ...

events such as winter

snow storm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...

s, damaging winds, and convective weather events. MesoWest surface observations are integrated into high spatial and

temporal resolution Temporal resolution (TR) refers to the discrete resolution of a measurement with respect to time. Physics Often there is a trade-off between the temporal resolution of a measurement and its spatial resolution, due to Heisenberg's uncertainty pri ...

grid analyses across the United States.

The University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

Advanced Regional Prediction System Data Analysis System (ADAS) has been configured to run over regions of complex terrain, including

3-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...

and surface-based analyses. The Utah ADAS relies on MesoWest observations as an important source of local data, modifying initial background fields provided by numerical model analyses. MesoWest is also available to the educational community for use in the classroom. Students in grades

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

can observe weather conditions near their school or around the region.

Restrictions

The data provided to MesoWest arise from cooperative arrangements with many different

educational institutions An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments an ...

, public agencies and commercial firms. These data are intended to be used by:

governmental agencies A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

to protect lives and property, the public for general information, and educational institutions for instructional and research purposes. Any other uses of the data from one or more stations must receive written approval from the agencies that installed the weather sensors.

MesoWest staff

References

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External links

MesoWest Home Page

MesoWest Data Providers

National Weather Service
Organizations based in Utah 1996 establishments in Utah