AWOS Funding?

Does anyone know the mechanics behind the funding of Automated Weather
Observation Systems (AWOS) at airports?

I ask this because on our recent flight to St. Louis we were again
struck by the fact that Iowa has a plethora of AWOS, while northern
Missouri has painfully few. See here (select "ALL"):

http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov...pletsize=large

Zoom in on Iowa and Missouri. You'll notice that (if you draw a line
from Iowa City [KIOW] to Spirirt of St. Louis [KSUS]) we go through a
relatively large area of empty space. We've come to call this area of
Missouri "The Kirksville Triangle" because the weather always seems to
be bizarre there -- and we can never tell what's ahead due to a lack
of reporting stations.

It's not that there aren't airports there -- there just aren't any
AWOS's.

Is AWOS primarily funded by the states, or is it federally funded?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Does Iowa have a Republican governor and senators? How about Missouri?

It seems like keeping the people of Iowa happy would be important for either
political party due to the early caucuses.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
Does anyone know the mechanics behind the funding of Automated Weather
Observation Systems (AWOS) at airports?

I ask this because on our recent flight to St. Louis we were again
struck by the fact that Iowa has a plethora of AWOS, while northern
Missouri has painfully few. See here (select "ALL"):

http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov...pletsize=large

Zoom in on Iowa and Missouri. You'll notice that (if you draw a line
from Iowa City [KIOW] to Spirirt of St. Louis [KSUS]) we go through a
relatively large area of empty space. We've come to call this area of
Missouri "The Kirksville Triangle" because the weather always seems to
be bizarre there -- and we can never tell what's ahead due to a lack
of reporting stations.

It's not that there aren't airports there -- there just aren't any
AWOS's.

Is AWOS primarily funded by the states, or is it federally funded?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Does Iowa have a Republican governor and senators? How about Missouri?

It seems like keeping the people of Iowa happy would be important for either
political party due to the early caucuses.

Right now, Iowa is all-Democrat. The parties were split between the
Governor and Legislature, but the recent election has changed all
that, and we're back to single-party rule.

How does AWOS keep the people of Iowa happy?

They keep me *very* happy, but I suspect most Iowans have no idea that
AWOS even exists.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 2/22/2007 11:28:53 AM, "Jay Honeck" wrote:

So AWOS is a federal program?

Jay, he is the one who posts his racial ATC rants once every month or two. Do
you really think his info is credible?

--
Peter

So AWOS is a federal program?

Jay, he is the one who posts his racial ATC rants once every month or two. Do
you really think his info is credible?

As a racist ex-FAA (or current?) employee, he probably knows the
answer to my question.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:


How does AWOS keep the people of Iowa happy?

Here in Georgia the local TV stations use the AWOS reports
of the various airports to provide temperature and dewpoint
and baro readings from towns around in the region. I assume
its the same in most, if not all of the states.

The people may not know it, but they do get regional weather
information for AWOS/ASOS.

They keep me *very* happy, but I suspect most Iowans have no idea that
AWOS even exists.
--

As I stated, most people who aren't into aviation (other than
the news media) probably don't have a clue.

ktbr wrote:

As I stated, most people who aren't into aviation (other than
the news media) probably don't have a clue.

I should have mentioned that we (the airport) pay the cost of the
NADIN equipment and the monthly fee to make our AWOS data available
to the national weather network. I am sure this is true of most
airports.

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
Does anyone know the mechanics behind the funding of Automated Weather
Observation Systems (AWOS) at airports?

Your answer is he
http://www.faa.gov/asos/

"Both Federal and nonfederal systems are in service. The FAA purchased and
currently maintains the Federal AWOS equipment. State, local, and private
organizations buy and maintain nonfederal AWOSs."

So if Iowa has a larger number than average of stations it is probably
because local Iowa governments and organizations are paying for them.

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
So AWOS is a federal program?

Jay, he is the one who posts his racial ATC rants once every month or
two. Do you really think his info is credible?

As a racist ex-FAA (or current?) employee, he probably knows the
answer to my question.

I've researched past claims by that troll and have routinely found his
alleged facts are wrong. I posted a reply to your original post that
provides a link that hopefully answers your question.

Jay Honeck wrote:
Does Iowa have a Republican governor and senators? How about
Missouri?

It seems like keeping the people of Iowa happy would be important
for either political party due to the early caucuses.

Right now, Iowa is all-Democrat. The parties were split between the
Governor and Legislature, but the recent election has changed all
that, and we're back to single-party rule.

How does AWOS keep the people of Iowa happy?

They keep me *very* happy, but I suspect most Iowans have no idea that
AWOS even exists.

It doesn't matter it gets on the list of fed money spent in the state.