IEM Daily Feature
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Cloud Sensor Differences
Posted: 30 Nov 2011 06:02 AM
The airport weather sensors for Des Moines and Ames are typically
called 'ASOS' sensors and lumped into the same data pile as they both
have similar sensors and maintenance standards. The featured chart
presents a summary of reported sky conditions at 6 AM each morning this
year. While these sites are only separated by 30 some miles, there are
some large differences in the number of clear mornings reported. The
difference here is that the Des Moines sensor has augmentors that
report cloud ceilings higher (to 25,000 feet) in the sky than the Ames
sensor can (to 12,000 feet). This is just one of the data quirks that
keeps life fun and various people employed to keep track of this all!
Voting:
Good = 23
Bad = 5
Tags: clouds
Voting:
Good = 23
Bad = 5
Tags: clouds