The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) and the older Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) are sensors used to measure and record hourly and significant weather conditions at airports across the United States. The newer Automated Weather Sensor System (AWSS) is the successor to AWOS, reporting once per minute. ASOS units are implemented cooperatively, with the National Weather Service operating them and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) distributing information to pilots. AWOS and AWSS units are operated and controlled by the FAA; the NWS plays no role in their operation or deployment. Data dissemination is usually via an automated VHF airband radio frequency (118~136MHz) at each airport, broadcasting ASOS or AWOS weather information, often via the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS). // Distinguish from censure and censer and censor. ... Various meters Measurement is the estimation or determination of extent, dimension or capacity, usually in relation to some standard or unit of measurement. ... Weather is a term that encompasses phenomena in the atmosphere of a planet. ... The National Weather Service (NWS) is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States government. ...   FAA redirects here. ... An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. ... Automation (ancient Greek: = self dictated) or Industrial Automation is the use of computers to control industrial machinery and processes, replacing human operators. ... Very high frequency (VHF) is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. ... Note: This article title may be easily confused with AirBand The airband or air band is the band of frequencies used for radio communication in aviation. ... Rough plot of Earths atmospheric transmittance (or opacity) to various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, including radio waves. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Note: broadcasting is also a term for hand sowing. ... Automatic Terminal Information Service, or ATIS, is a continuous broadcast of recorded noncontrol information in busier terminal (i. ...

ASOS, AWOS, and AWSS units record temperature, visibility (haze or fog), precipitation types and amounts, wind direction and speed, humidity and dew point, barometric pressure and altimeter, sky cover and ceiling, and thunder. Freezing rain is recorded with a vibrating wire, which stops vibrating as ice accumulates. Regular reports are made at different intervals depending on the unit type. ASOS and AWSS units report hourly, usually a few minutes before the hour, with additional SPECI (special) reports when significant changes in weather occur during the hour, such as rain changing to snow, approaching thunder, or heavy rain. AWOS units report every 20 minutes, though this occasionally varies by a few minutes; they do not issue SPECIs. Fig. ... In meteorology, visibility is a measure of the distance that can be seen clearly at any given time. ... Severe haze affecting Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August 2005 Moon over red and blue haze For other uses, see Haze (disambiguation). ... Evening fog obscures Londons Tower Bridge from passers by. ... Wind is the rough horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ... Speed is the rate of motion, or equivalently the rate of change of position, many times expressed as distance d moved per unit of time t. ... Humidity is the concentration of water vapor in the air. ... Dew on a spider web The dew point or dewpoint of a given parcel of air is the temperature to which the parcel must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for the water vapor component to condense into water, called dew. ... Atmospheric pressure is the pressure caused by the weight of air above any area in the Earths atmosphere. ... Kollsman-type barometric aircraft altimeter as used in North America An altimeter is an active instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. ... This intricate ceiling is part of the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, designed by architect Walter Burley Griffin. ... Thunder is the sound of the shockwave caused when lightning instantly heats the air around it to up to 30 000 °C (54 000 °F). ... A shrub coated by glaze after a night of freezing rain. ... Snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, 1902 Ice is the name given to any one of the 14 known solid phases of water. ... For the singer, see Rain (singer). ... Animation of snowcover changing with the seasons. ...

The data helps meteorologists, pilots and flight dispatchers prepare and monitor weather forecasts, flight routes, and provide necessary information for safe takeoffs and landings. AWOSs are categorized as either "federal" or "non-federal". Federal AWOSs were purchased and are maintained by the FAA. Non-federal AWOSs are purchased and maintainted by state government, local government, and private organizations. The current information reported by ASOS, AWOS and AWSS units is used at weather offices where forecasts are produced, along with computer model outputs, weather satellite photos, and weather radar images, to name a few. In general, data consist of propositions that reflect reality. ... An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. ... A dispatch can be: A report sent to a newspaper by a correspondent. ... Prediction of future events is an ancient human wish. ... A Ryanair Boeing 737 takes off from Bristol International Airport, England Takeoff is the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground (taxiing) to flying in the air (see flight), usually on a runway. ... Mytravel Airbus A320 landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal or aircraft returns to the ground. ... A state government is the government of a subnational entity in nation-states with federal forms of government, which shares political power with the federal government or national government. ... Local governments are administrative offices of an area smaller than a state or province. ... An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ... A computer simulation or a computer model is a computer program that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system. ... GOES-8, a United States weather satellite. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Not all U.S. government weather stations are NWS- or FAA-run. The Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) system is run by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and monitored by the National Interagency Fire Center, mainly to observe potential wildfire conditions. ... A technician examines a weather stations anemometer. ... The Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) system is a network of weather stations run by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and monitored by the National Interagency Fire Center, mainly to observe potential wildfire conditions. ... The USDA Forest Service, a United States government agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, is under the leadership of the United States Secretary of Agriculture. ... US BLM logo The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers Americas public lands, totaling approximately 261 million surface acres (1,056,229. ... To monitor or monitoring may mean: to observe a situation for any changes which may occur over time, using a monitor or measuring device of some sort: Baby monitor, medical monitor, Heart rate monitor Biomonitoring Condition monitoring Network monitoring Election monitoring to observe the behaviour or communications of individuals or... The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, is the physical facility that is home to the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC), and the National Multi-Aegncy Coordination group (NMAC or MAC). ... Bitterroot National Forest wildfire A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, brush fire, peat fire (gambut in Indonesia), bushfire (in Australasia), or hill fire, is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources. ...

External links

• Automated Surface Observing System - NWS
• Automated Surface Observing System/Automated Weather Observing System - FAA
• any AWOS