-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Code Name Units Max Notes Database
QC Level FSL AWIPS*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TD dewpoint temperature K 3 1,6 X
RH relative humidity % 3 1,6 X
Q specific humidity kg/kg 3 1,6 X
DPD dewpoint depression K 3 1,6 X
AH absolute humidity g/(m**3) 3 1,6 X
ALTSE altimeter Pa 3 2 X
WVMR water vapor mixing ratio kg/kg 3 1,6 X
PT3 3 hour pressure change Pa 2 3 X
PT3CHR character of 3h pressure change code 0 3 X
SLP sea level pressure Pa 3 X
P station pressure Pa 3 2 X
T air temperature K 3 4 X
TV virtual temperature K 3 4,6 X
DD wind direction deg 3 5 X
FF wind speed m/s 3 5 X
U u wind component m/s 3 5 X
V v wind component m/s 3 5 X
VIS visibility m 1 X
ELEV elevation m 0 X
LAT latitude deg N 0 X
LON longitude deg E 0 X
CORR correction flag code 0 X
PCP1H accumulated precip - 1h m 1 7,6 X
PCP3H accumulated precip - 3h m 1 X
PCP6H accumulated precip - 6h m 1 X
PCP24H accumulated precip - 24h m 1 6 X
PCPRATE precipitation rate kg/(m**2)/s 1 7 X
SKYCVLB sky cover layer base m 0 10 X
T24MIN 24 hour minimum temperature K 1 6 X
T24MAX 24 hour maximum temperature K 1 6 X
FFGUST wind gust m/s 2 6 X
NOBSSC number of sky cover obs X
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Code Name Character Notes Database
Size FSL AWIPS*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SKYCOV sky cover 6x8 10 X
AUTOTYP automated station type 6 18 X
REPTYPE report type 6 19 X
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 pressure same or higher than 3 hours ago
1 increasing then steady
2 increasing
3 decreasing or steady, then increasing
4 steady
5 pressure same or lower than 3 hours ago
6 decreasing
7 steady or increasing, then decreasing
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 stationary (moored buoy or CMAN)
1 moving (drifting buoy or ship)
Data platform type (High Frequency METAR):
Value Meaning
----- -------
1 Federal ASOS
2 Federal AWOS
3 Federal AOS
4 Non-fed ASOS
5 Non-fed AWOS
6 Non-fed AOS
Data platform type (COOP):
Value Meaning
----- -------
< 100 Phase II site (regional hub)
100 Phase II site (GOES/HADS)
200 Phase I site (direct connect)
300 Phase I site (GOES/HADS)
The modernized NWS Cooperative Observer sites can provide different variables, and on different schedules, dependent both on the type of site (Phase I or II) and on the processing done as part of reformatting the data sent over the various communications systems in use. Here are the primary differences:
9/26/06: The Phase II GOES/HADS sites are being phased out, as part of
an upgrade where the COOP network has been gradually rolling in a new
software load over the last several months (and it's not done yet).
The new load is indicated in MADIS as data platform types 2-99 (currently
only 2 is in use). This upgrade has changed what variables are available from
the Phase II stations.
Variables that are no longer available for COOP PLATTYP 2 stations:
TD1H hourly average dewpoint temperature
RH relative humidity
RH1H hourly average relative humidity
Q specific humidity
Q1H hourly average specific humidity
DPD dewpoint depression
DPD1H hourly average dewpoint depression
AH absolute humidity
AH1H hourly average absolute humidity
WVMR water vapor mixing ratio
TV virtual temperature
T1H hourly average temperature
TV1H hourly average virtual temperature
DD1H hourly average wind direction
DD24H daily average wind direction
FF1H hourly average wind speed
FF24H daily average wind speed
U1H hourly average u wind component
U24H daily average u wind component
V1H hourly average v wind component
V24H daily average v wind component
PCPTOTL total precipitation
PCP1H accumulated precip - 1h
PCP24H accumulated precip - 24h
PCPUDAY accum. precip - user-defined day
UDSTART user-defined day start HHMM
PCPRATE precipitation rate
T24MIN 24 hour minimum temperature
T24MAX 24 hour maximum temperature
SOILM2 soil moisture percent - 2 inch
SOILM4 soil moisture percent - 4 inch
SOILM8 soil moisture percent - 8 inch
SOILM20 soil moisture percent - 20 inch
SOILM40 soil moisture percent - 40 inch
SOILT2 soil temperature - 2 inch
SOILT4 soil temperature - 4 inch
SOILT8 soil temperature - 8 inch
SOILT20 soil temperature - 20 inch
SOILT40 soil temperature - 40 inch
DDMAX1H wind dir at hourly max wind speed
FFMAX1H hourly maximum wind speed
GSRD5M global solar radiation - 5min
STNSPC1 station specific #1
STNSPC2 station specific #2
T24MINT time of 24 hour minimum temperature
T24MAXT time of 24 hour maximum temperature
Variables that have been added for COOP PLATTYP 2 stations:
DDGUST wind dir at gust (5m)
FFGUST wind gust (5m)
PCP5M accumulated precip - 5m
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 intensity info not available
1 none
2 light
3 moderate
4 heavy
5 slight
6 other
Stations measuring precipitation type and intensity may take observations
with one or two sensors. Therefore, an array of 2 elements will be
returned for each record, and the caller should dimension the array to
(2,200000).
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 no precipitation
1 precipitation present but unclassified
2 rain
3 snow
4 mixed rain and snow
5 light
6 light freezing
7 freezing rain
8 sleet
9 hail
10 other
11 unidentified
12 unknown
13 frozen
14 ice pellets
15 recent
29 RPU-to-maxSensor communications failure
30 sensor failure
Stations measuring precipitation type and intensity may take observations
with one or two sensors. Therefore, an array of 2 elements will be
returned for each record, and the caller should dimension the array to
(2,200000).
For more information on these variables, see section 9.4.2 of Federal Meteorological Handbook 1 (FMH-1). A PDF version of FMH-1 is available at http://www.ofcm.gov/fmh-1/fmh1.htm.
Sky cover values:
Value Meaning Summation amount of layer
----- ------- -------------------------
VV Vertical Visibility 8/8
SKC or CLR Clear 0
FEW Few 1/8 - 2/8
SCT Scattered 3/8 - 4/8
BKN Broken 5/8 - 7/8
OVC Overcast 8/8
1. CLR is used at automated stations when no layers at or below 12,000 ft
are reported; SKC is used at manual stations when no layers are
reported.
2. Any layer amount less than 1/8 is reported as FEW.
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 0 to 100 ft
1 200 to 300 ft
2 400 to 600 ft
3 700 to 900 ft
4 1000 to 1900 ft
5 2000 to 3200 ft
6 3300 to 4900 ft
7 5000 to 6500 ft
8 7000 to 8000 ft
9 8500 or higher or no clouds
-1 unknown or cloud base below surface of station
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 no Cu, Cb, Sc, or St
1 Cu w/ little vertical extent
2 Cu w/ moderate or great vertical extent
3 Cb w/out fibrous or striated upper part
4 Sc formed by spreading Cu
5 Sc not formed by spreading Cu
6 St or ragged St
7 ragged St or ragged Cu
8 Cu and Sc w/ bases at different levels
9 Cb w/ fibrous or striated upper part
-1 low clouds not visible (obscured)
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 no Ac, As, or Ns
1 semi-transparent As
2 opaque As, or Ns
3 semi-transparent Ac predominant
4 Ac continually changing in appearance
5 Ac invading the sky
6 Ac formed by spreading of Cu or Cb
7 double layered Ac or thick Ac; or Ac & As
8 turreted Ac or Ac in tufts
9 Ac of a chaotic sky
-1 middle clouds not visible (obscured)
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 no Ci, Cs, or Cc
1 Ci in filaments or hooks
2 dense Ci & turreted Ci & Ci in tufts
3 dense Ci orig from Cb, present
4 Ci invading the sky
5 Cs not exceeding 45 degrees altitude
6 Cs exceeding 45 degrees altitude
7 Cs covering the whole sky
8 Cs not invading the sky
9 Cc alone, or Cc more than (Ci & Cs)
-1 high clouds not visible (obscured)
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 Data not available
1 Low tide, observed tide below predicted level
2 Low tide, observed tide same as predicted level
3 Low tide, observed tide above predicted level
4 Neither low nor high tide, observed tide below predicted level
5 Neither low nor high tide, observed tide same as predicted level
6 Neither low nor high tide, observed tide above predicted level
7 High tide, observed tide below predicted level
8 High tide, observed tide same as predicted level
9 High tide, observed tide above predicted level
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 No report
1 Dry
2 Moist
3 Moist and chemically treated
4 Wet
5 Wet and chemically treated
6 Ice
7 Frost
8 Snow
9 Snow/Ice watch
10 Snow/Ice warning
11 Wet above freezing
12 Wet below freezing
13 Absorption
14 Absorption at dewpoint
15 Dew
16 Black ice warning
17 Other
18 Slush
Value Meaning
----- -------
AO1 automated station without precipitation discriminator (METAR)
AO2 automated station with precipitation discriminator (METAR)
AUTO2 automated station (SAO)
AUTO4 automated station (SAO)
AUTO7 automated station (SAO)
AUTO8 automated station (SAO)
blank manual station
Value Meaning
----- -------
METAR scheduled report (METAR)
SPECI report triggered by SPECI criteria (METAR) (see FMH-1)
SA scheduled report (SAO)
The coded values for the COOP present weather variable are listed below:
Value Meaning
----- -------
- No report
FG Fog
IE Ice
GL Glaze
TS Thunder
GR Hail
DW Damaging Winds
RA Rainy
SN Snowy
With the MESONET dataset, in addition, characters (40:50) are used to denote the "subprovider", if any. Some (but not all) mesonets contain data from a number of smaller networks. In these cases, the "subprovider" for each station is the name of the smaller network. If this field is all blank, then there isn't a subprovider associated with the station. This information can also be obtained directly by reading the SUBPVDR variable, which only contains the subprovider designation.
Note that the station location variable isn't available in the AWIPS database for METAR.
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 no runway parallel to RVR runway
1 left
2 center
3 right
The RVR distance type (RVRTYPE) variable has the following values:
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 between highest and lowest reportable values
1 lowest reportable value
2 highest reportable value
ALERT1:
Bit Meaning
--- -------
1 Sky Condition, In
2 Ceiling, Up
3 Ceiling, Down
4 Visibility, Increase
5 Visibility, Decrease
6 Wind Direction/Preferred Runway Change
7 Wind Speed, Increase
8 Reserved
9 Hail, Begin
10 Hail, End
11 Ice Pellets, Begin
12 Ice Pellets, End
13 Freezing Rain, Begin
14 Freezing Rain, End
15 Freezing Drizzle, Begin
16 Freezing Drizzle, End
ALERT2:
Bit Meaning
--- -------
1 Thunderstorm, Begin
2 Thunderstorm, End
3 Thunderstorm, Increase
4 Tornado Observed
5 Funnel Cloud Observed
6 Water Spout Observed
7 Reserved
8 Local Threshold Exceeded
9 Snow, Begin
10 Snow, End
11 Rain, Begin
12 Rain, End
13 Non-specific Precip, Begin
14 Non-specific Precip, End
15 Fog, Begin
16 Fog, End
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 commissioned
1 not yet commissioned
Value Meaning
----- -------
[TBD]
YY = 2-digit year (good from 1980 - 2179)
JJJ = Julian date of the year (1-366)
HH = Hour (0-23)
MM = Minute (0-59)
If the max/min temperature time is missing, the 9-character field will be set to all blanks, e.g., " ". Users of the MADIS API sfcdump program will get the time output in their chosen format, either YYJJJHHMM or YYYYMMDD_HHMM.
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 closed
1 open
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 off
1 on
Automated remarks status (ARMKST) is a bitmask with set bits indicating the detection of conditions triggering automated remarks (LSB=1, MSB=16):
Bit Meaning
--- -------
1 variable visibility
2 variable wind direction
3 variable ceiling
4 reserved
5 visibility at second location
6 ceiling height at second location
Automated remarks (AUTORMK) encoding
------------------------------------
Variable Visibility
The automated remark pertaining to variable visibility is
expressed as: VSBY aaa(a)Vbbb(b), where aaa(a) and bbb(b) are 3-
or 4-character, variable-length fields with leading "0" characters
as necessary to ensure a 3 character minimum, and these represent
range limits provided in hundredths of statute miles. For
example: VSBY 075V250 indicates a variation in visibility between
0.75 and 2.5 miles.
(ASOS/AOS Only) A multiple sensor visibility remark is inserted in
this field in the exact format by which it is prepared for
insertion as a multiple sensor visibility REMARK in METAR format.
See FMH-1 for details of the formatting.
Variable Wind
The automated remark for variable wind direction is encoded as
follows when the current average wind speed exceeds 6 knots:
WND ccVdd, where cc and dd are 2-character, fixed-length fields
with a leading "0" character as necessary, and indicates range
limits provided in tens of degrees. For example: WND 06V13 denotes
a variation in the true direction between 60 and 130 degrees.
The automated remark for variable wind direction is encoded as
follows when the current average wind speed is equal to or less
than 6 knots and five-second wind samples have varied over a range
of 60 degrees or more over the past two minutes: VRBkkKT, where kk
is a 2-character, fixed-length field with a leading "0" character,
and "VRB" and "KT" shall be literals. For example: VRB03KT
Variable Ceiling (ASOS/AOS Only)
The automated remark for variable ceiling condition may indicate
one (for an airport configured with a single cloud sensor) or one
of two (for an airport configured with multiple cloud sensors)
cloud conditions. The format for the single cloud sensor
configuration is: CIG eeeVfff, and the format for the multiple
cloud sensor configuration is:
CIG eee gggggggg
CIG eeeVfff
CHINO gggggggg
Upper case letters and blanks within individual remarks are
fixed. Lower case eee,fff are 3-character, fixed-length fields
with leading "0" character(s) as necessary, and respectively
represent minimum and maximum ceiling heights, in hundreds of
feet, above ground level (AGL).
gggggggg is a 1- to 8-character, variable-length field
representing one of the eight cardinal directions: "N", "NE", "E",
"SE", "S", "SW", "W", "NW" and/or additional descriptors such as
runway designators, etc.
For example: CIG 008V020 indicates that a variable ceiling base
height was detected between 800 and 2000 feet.
Visibility At Second Location (ASOS/AOS Only)
The automated remark pertaining to visibility at a second
location, generated only when this value is less than that
registered at the primary location, is encoded as:
VIS aaaaa gggggggg, where aaaaa is a variable length field of up
to 5 characters representing the visibility in fractional format,
with a single space character separating the integer and fractional
parts, and gggggggg is a 1- to 8-character, variable-length field
representing one of the eight cardinal directions: "N", "NE", "E",
"SE", "S", "SW", "W", "NW" and/or additional descriptors such as
runway designators, etc. For example: VIS 1 3/4 RWY22 indicates a
visibility of one and three quarters statute miles registered at
the Runway 22 location.
Ceiling Height At Second Location (ASOS/AOS Only)
The automated remark pertaining to ceiling height at a second
location, generated only when this value is less than that
registered at the primary location, is encoded as:
CIG hhh gggggggg, where hhh is a fixed length field of 3 characters
representing the measured ceiling height in hundreds of feet, and
gggggggg is a 1- to 8-character, variable-length field
representing one of the eight cardinal directions: "N", "NE", "E",
"SE", "S", "SW", "W", "NW" and/or additional descriptors such as
runway designators, etc. For example: CIG 003 RWY22 indicates a
ceiling height of three hundred feet registered at the Runway 22
location.
Operator remarks (OPERRMK) are free-formatted text.
Value Meaning
----- -------
0 Sensor operating/data available
1 Reserved
2 Sensor not installed
3 Sensor out of service
4 Reserved
5 Sensors output in conflict
6 Invalidated: Auto range check
7 Invalidated: Auto rate of change
8 Invalidated: Auto insufficent count
9 Invalidated: By operator
10 Data source offsite: Link failure
11 Reserved
12 Dewpoint sensor invalidated *
13 Reserved
14 Reserved
15 Reserved
16 Operator manual data entry
* Value 12 is only used for the dewpoint sensor (TDSS).
Bit Meaning
--- -------
1 Operator on duty
2 Test Mode
3 Manual Mode
4 Part or all data are suspect
Bit Meaning
--- -------
1 Mist monitoring active
2 Fog monitoring active
3 Ground fog monitoring active
4 Ice fog monitoring active
5 Haze monitoring active
6 Smoke monitoring active
7 Dust, volcanic ash monitoring active
8 Blowing snow, sand monitoring active
9 Rain monitoring active
10 Snow grains monitoring active
11 Freezing rain monitoring active
12 Small hail and/or ice pellets monitoring active
13 Ice pellets monitoring active
14 Snow monitoring active
15 Ice crystals monitoring active
16 Hail monitoring active