Part III: ROMAN and MesoWest: resources for observing surface weather  MesoWest and ROMAN are software that require ongoing maintenance and development to provide access to surface environmental information for variety of operational applications   Shoestring budget! San Diego Tribune. 28 Oct. 2003

MesoWest  A cooperative program to collect, archive, and distribute environmental observations across the Nation with emphasis on the western United States  200+ agencies/commercial firms  1000s of HAM radio operators  stations nationally (3500+ stations in western US)  Primary support: NWS and BLM  Considerable effort placed on basic metadata and MySQL database  Delivery of data via FTP,LDM, web portals  Traditional COOP reports in separate database  Integration of environmental and GIS information

MesoWest Observations from 70+ networks Grown steadily since 1997 Coordination with MADIS Approx temperature obs/hr across the West ingested into ADAS Variety of user interfaces States GACCs CWAs FWZs MODIS regions

ASOS RAWS

SNOTEL OTHER

 Metadata provided by station owners is integrated with GIS information to georeference objectively the data relative to:  states and counties  National Weather Service (NWS) County Warning Areas, forecast zones, and fire weather zones  Land agency Geographic Coordinating Areas and Predictive Service Areas  Locations of fires  Topozone and google earth graphics available for every station

Limitations of Observations- All That Is Labeled Data Is NOT Gold (Lockhart 2003)  References:  Challenges of Measurements. T. Lockhart (2003). Handbook of Weather, Climate and Water. Wiley & Sons  Review of the RAWS Network. Zachariassen et al. (2003). USDA Tech. Report RMRS-GTR-119. GNI

Are All Observations Equally Bad?  All measurements have errors (random and systematic)  Errors arise from many factors:  Siting (obstacles, surface characteristics)  Exposure to environmental conditions (e.g., temperature sensor heating/cooling by radiation, conduction or reflection)  Sampling strategies  Maintenance standards  Metadata errors (incorrect location, elevation) SNZ

Are All Observations Equally Good?  Why was the sensor installed?  Observing needs and sampling strategies vary (air quality, fire weather, road weather)  Station siting results from pragmatic tradeoffs: power, communication, obstacles, access  Use common sense  Wind sensor in the base of a mountain pass will likely blow from only two directions  Errors depend upon conditions (e.g., temperature spikes common with calm winds)  Use available metadata  Topography  Land use, soil, and vegetation type  Photos  Monitor quality control information  Basic consistency checks  Comparison to other stations UT9

How representative can a single observation site be? 9 Adequate instrumentation Good local siting Response to synoptic conditions can vary widely over short distances Persistent ridging can lead to cold pools in basins and warm temperature on slopes Response dependent on snow cover as well

Sub-NDFD Grid Scale (5km) Variability in Terrain Height Dark > 200m Myrick and Horel (2006)

Density of Temperature Observations (A  z /#) METAR  z = 200m For  z = 200m Green: 1 stn every 50x50km 2 ; Light red: 1 stn every 35x35 km 2 ; Red: 1 stn every 25x25 km 2 MesoWest

ROMAN Goals  Maintain software that accesses RAWS data in ASCADS and make that data available for operational users in real time  Integrate RAWS, ASOS, and mesonet observations into one archival and display system to provide real-time weather data around the nation to meteorologists and land managers  Display data in fast-loading formats tailored to the wildland fire community and accessible to:  Top-level managers  Fire-behavior analysts and IMETs in the field  NWS WFO operations San Diego Tribune. 28 Oct. 2003

How Mesonet Data Are Accessed and Delivered MesoWest WR Web UU Data Streams Users ROMAN WR ROMAN Web WR RAWS In ASCADS Other WR/WFO Apps Metadata/QC UU

What Weather Information is Available? Search by: maps (state, CWAs, GACCs, etc.)

What Weather Information is Available? Search by: zip code, geographic location, latitude/longitude

What Has Been Happening Recently? 5-Day Max/Min Temperature, RH, Wind Speed

What Are the Current Conditions? Weather Summary

What Has Changed Since Yesterday? Trend Monitor

What Extreme Conditions Are Underway? Weather Monitor

How Much Precipitation Has Fallen? Monitor Summary

Weather Near Fires

Current Weather Near Fires

Archived Fires

Weather Near Fires: 31 October 2003

MODIS Base Maps October 29 October 31

What Do You Do if You Notice a Problem with MesoWest or ROMAN?  BIG problems:  Check the ROMAN status page (on left menu)  Send to  If emergency, follow NWS WR procedures for contacting WR IT staff  Questions/QC concerns  Send to