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"

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.

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.

I've often wondered why our local radio/TV stations don't use the
readily available AWOS information, but they don't. I guess it's just
more "folksy" to use their "spotters" around the state, like "Bill in
Ottumwa..."
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I actually called the local TV/radio group a few years back and
suggested that the weatherman use the local AWOS to add the ceilings
and barometer to his otherwise good presentations... Thought I was
being helpful - ya know, community involvement and all that...
Boy was I wrong...
What I got was a frosty lecture on how he is a certified meterologist
and knows best - period, end of discussion...

Well, I also intended as part of that call to offer to take him/them
for a flight and maybe a sunrise shot over the city on the morning of
the equinox as the summer equinox was just a week away - and he is a
reporter at times so I felt spreading aviation experience would ooze
down to better reporting on general aviation... But after getting my
butt dressed down I politely said good by and quietly hung up...

denny

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.

On Feb 22, 2:38 pm, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net
wrote:
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.

The AWOS at my airport (MI) is state funded... No federal funds the
airport manager is aware of (just phoned him)...

denny

Denny wrote:
On Feb 22, 2:38 pm, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net
wrote:
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.

The AWOS at my airport (MI) is state funded... No federal funds the
airport manager is aware of (just phoned him)...

denny

Well then your airport manager isn't doing his job. He needs to get out
there and file those grant applications to get federal money. At my last
count little ELD in Arkansas has spent over 5,000,000 of Uncle Sugar's money
in the last 10 years.