MESOWEST: COOPERATIVE MESONETS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Meteorological data from over 2800 automated environmental monitoring stations in the western United States are collected, processed, archived, integrated, and disseminated as part of the MesoWest program. MesoWest depends upon voluntary access to provisional observations from environmental monitori...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 2002-02, Vol.83 (2), p.211-225
Main Authors:	Horel, J., Splitt, M., Dunn, L., Pechmann, J., White, B., Ciliberti, C., Lazarus, S., Slemmer, J., Zaff, D., Burks, J.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	City districts Earth, ocean, space Exact sciences and technology External geophysics Geophysics. Techniques, methods, instrumentation and models Information dissemination Meteorology Meteors Observational research Observatories Quality assurance Statistical weather forecasting Weather Weather forecasting Wind
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Meteorological data from over 2800 automated environmental monitoring stations in the western United States are collected, processed, archived, integrated, and disseminated as part of the MesoWest program. MesoWest depends upon voluntary access to provisional observations from environmental monitoring stations installed and maintained byfederal, state, and local agencies and commercial firms. In many cases, collection and transmission of these observations are facilitated by NWS forecast offices, government laboratories, and universities. MesoWest augments the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) network maintained by the NWS, Federal Aviation Administration, and Department of Defense. MesoWest increases the coverage of observations in remote locations and helps capture many of the localand mesoscale weather phenomena that impact the public. The primary goal of MesoWest is to improve timely access to automated observations for NWS forecasters at offices throughout the western United States. In addition, integration of the observations into analyses of surface conditions at high spatial and temporal resolution provides additional tools for nowcasts and forecast verification. MesoWest observations are being used for many other applications, including input to operational and research models and research and education on weather processes in the western United States.
ISSN:	0003-0007 1520-0477