ATIS vs. ASOS

[Dave Baldwin]

We were parawaiting & kvetching about the weather at Wilcox yesterday….. Someone was asking about the differences between ATIS and ASOS. I hope that what follows might be helpful information:

ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) is a playback of a human voice recording. The tower is required to broadcast a new report when the weather changes by some (airplane not paraglider) FAA mandated criteria but it is not always timely. People get busy in the glass cage and forget to record a new ATIS. Especially when the weather is changing rapidly. Tower operators are suppose to log the weather every hour on the hour but that doesn’t always happen on time and that does not mean that there will be a new ATIS recording every hour. Best guess is to try 5 minutes after the hour if you are looking a new report but don’t expect to hear a new report. For paragliding purposes the ATIS is most helpful in acknowledging that there is an active Notam (Notice to airmen) warning real pilots not to disturb the crazy people that are jumping-off cliffs at More Mesa. Each ATIS is identified by an alpha code (Alpha Bravo Charlie, etc…) so you can tell if it has changed since your last call. That is assuming that you can remember the last alpha code that you heard. Try 805-967-0283 to hear the latest.

ASOS (Automatic Surface Observation System) is a back box reporting system. It averages the weather for the last 60 seconds (from :00:00:00 to 00:00:59) and then broadcasts it 23 seconds after the minute (00:01:23). So the observation you are listening to is less than 2 minutes old by the time you hear it. The problem is that no human is there determining that the cloud cover report is actually condensation and not just gaggle of thermaling broad winged tormentors. It is the best choice for up to the 2 minute winds. Try 805-681-0583

Santa Ynez has a block box system too. It is an AWOS-3 system (Automatic Weather Observation System ver. 3) for our purposes it is pretty much the same as an ASOS and it can be found at 805-686-8903

If you want to know what it going on in a broader sense talk to a weather specialist at a Flight Service Station 800-992-7433 (800-wxbrief). They will give you everything except wind talkers and the private/ham station weather. You can get the winds at any altitude in 3,000 intervals, forecasts, pilot reports of turbulence, etc… You might want to have a sectional (airplane map) available as they will often use radials and distances from navigation fixes as references. It is a free service that we all have already paid for. Just tell them you are a paraglider pilot, where you are, what you want, when you hope to fly (within the next 12-24 hours) and for how long.

Hope this helps!

[Leeside]

[Leeside]

Crazy people that are jumping-off cliffs at More Mesa are real pilots too!

[Dave Baldwin]

I was trying to be one of those real crazy pilots today but.... maybe tomorrow?

[Parma Chris]

CORRECTION...........

we do not jump off any cliff, we "fly off"




thanks for the info Dave, good stuff.

[andy]

I thought we launched, then we fly!?