For example, ASOS stations often report temperature and dew point to the tenth of a degree and six, twelve, and twenty-four hour precipitation totals. Each sensor that makes up these systems has limitations.
For example, the ceilometer used on ASOS stations cannot detect clouds above 12, feet. There are also many types of precipitation and particulate that they cannot differentiate. Visibility is also sometimes a problem for the sensors. Patchy fog is a problem in that if the obscuration is not directly on top of the sensor, the unit cannot see it. As a result, runways could be completely fogged in, but the automated observer might report good visibility.
Alternately, the ASOS might indicate dense fog while the runways are clear. Limitations of Automatic Observations. Related Article:. More Like This Flight Training. Flight Training. Latest Articles Military. Private Jets. Most US airports change at 55 past. Sometimes, on approach to the airport, the timing is such that you have to get the old ATIS knowing full well you will have to get it again.
Just pick up the new ATIS when the workload decreases. Sometimes ATC will read you the info and save you from having to get it yourself. Also, if the time on the ATIS is anything other than the standard 55 minutes past, you know the weather is changing rapidly enough the tower needed to update the weather this is both for good and bad weather. But, sometimes, a change in ATIS merely a runway change. No big deal. Each airport is different. They help the national weather system compile data on the entire United States, not just for aviation purposes.
They almost always have a basic level comparable to AWOS-III which means they can tell barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, DA, visibility, sky condition, ceiling height, and precipitation.
In other words, they are fairly robust systems and should give you enough information to make a solid choice on whether to fly. These stations are automated and will report the weather every minute. Whew…okay this one gets complicated. I know I cut this image off a bit, but I wanted it to be readable. Go to Wikepedia if you want the list not cut off as much.
The airport diagram and approach plates will tell you which system is in use. Back to login. You are planning your flight and need to check surface weather conditions at your destination airport. But which system do you use? What is the difference between the two and how do you know which system an airport is using? They report conditions in the immediate vicinity of the airport.
The main differences between AWOS and ASOS are the frequency of the reports, the content and additional features of the reports, and the agency responsible for doing the reporting. New twenty to thirty-second weather reports are generated and transmitted on a minutely basis making AWOS weather data virtually real-time. There are nine levels of AWOS reporting, and each level provides different amounts and types of weather data.
The level of AWOS in a given location is determined by the type of sensors the weather station is equipped with. This system went into operation in the early s and sensors are located at more than locations across the country including both airports and other monitoring locations.
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