Inactive

The National Weather Service Office of Observations (OBS) is responsible for the operations and maintenance of fielded systems that sense the atmosphere in support of surface based Aviation Operations... The National Weather Service Office of Observations (OBS) is responsible for the operations and maintenance of fielded systems that sense the atmosphere in support of surface based Aviation Operations, Climate and Ship Observing. There are three programs OBS manages supporting surface observations. The Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) program is an essential, joint mission support of the National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Department of Defense (DOD). The ASOS is the nation's primary system for collecting and reporting surface-weather observations, primarily at airports, in support of aviation operations as well as weather forecasting and the timely issuance of warnings. ASOS directly supports: Air Traffic Controllers rely on surface observations to provide airport weather parameters to safely support National Aerospace System (NAS) operations. Surface-weather observations at airports required for dispatch of commercial aircraft. Surface observations required to support Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations. Surface observation data required by the Office of Operational Systems and used by the NWS to produce weather forecast models and products. Supporting the aviation community and flying public by providing required dial-in services to surface-observation stations to obtain automated voice-weather reports. Providing the general public with up-to-date weather conditions via a dial-up service. Providing forecasters with detailed and timely surface conditions from ASOS sites around the Nation. Providing the aviation community with Ground-to-Air (GTA) Radio broadcasts of automated voice weather reports. An All Weather Precipitation Accumulation Gauge (AWPAG) sensor, developed by Ott Hydrometrie of Germany, at the time of its fielding was the state of the art in Precipitation Accumulation (PA) measurement. The AWPAG sensors presently fielded with the ASOS systems are over 18 years old, approaching the end of their useful lifecycle and the original equipment manufacturer has already discontinued support for the primary data logger circuit card assembly. Initiating project plans to find a replacement sensor and develop an acquisition, and integration project for new units is required to avoid systemic sensor performance degradation, and decreased operational availability of the PA measurement function.