Skip to main content

Future of the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Network (1998) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:

1 Overview
Pages 5-11

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 5...
... to build buildings or bridges, how many snow days to plan into the school year, how much road salt to buy, where to plan one's retirement, how much to limit emis sions, and so on (see Box 1-4~. From any perspective, this little known, low-cost network is a vital element of the nation's infrastructure arguably the most comprehensive national observing network for monitoring temperature, precipitation, snowfall, and other weather events in the United States.
Read the entire page →
From page 6...
... These stations, called "A" stations by NWS officials, are operated predominantly by volunteers either private individuals or employees of cooperating institutions, such as agricultural businesses, university research stations, reservoir caretakers, and water treatment plant operators. About 35 percent of the cooperative observers are paid a very small monthly fee (usually around $30)
Read the entire page →
From page 7...
... As the network expanded, the NWS relied partly on funds from these other agencies to maintain the Coop Network. The NWS Agricultural Weather Program greatly expanded the Coop Network across much of the country in the 1960s and 1970s.
Read the entire page →
From page 8...
... = 3,263 B 6,820 FIGURE 1-1 Types of Cooperative Observer Network stations. Source: National Weather Service · Nonrecording gauges are standard 8-inch rain gauges (basically cans)
Read the entire page →
From page 9...
... Source: National Climatic Data Center and
Read the entire page →
From page 10...
... in publications of climatological data because of the unreliability of ASOS measurements of liquid precipitation and the absence of measurements of snow or snow depth. NOAA, the NWS's parent agency, operates a network of marine weather data collection platforms, including ships and buoys, through the National Data Buoy Center and the National Ocean Service.
Read the entire page →
From page 11...
... Opportunities for real-time and retrospective uses of data from the Coop Network in NWS forecasts and warnings have been greatly expanded and will continue to be expanded as the acquisition of local data increases and locally run mesoscale numerical models are developed. In 1993, NWS proposed a plan for modernizing the Coop Network by automating certain observations and data communications.
Read the entire page →

Key Terms

  • cooperative observer
  • observer network
  • weather data
  • nws agricultural
  • agricultural weather

  • observing networks
  • coop program
  • network data
  • weather service
  • weather program

  • climatic data
  • climate data
  • weather observing
  • national climatic
  • data center

  • cooperative observers
  • precipitation measurements
  • weather offices
  • rain gauges
  • weather events

  • liquid precipitation
  • paper form
  • national weather
  • observing network
  • historical climate

  • nws modernization
  • forecast offices
  • state climatologists
  • climatological data
  • surface weather


    • This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
    More information on Chapter Skim is available.