Recent Weather Observations for Emergency Management

The airport or weather station is identified in the first line of output. In the example below, this would be KBGM - Binghamton, NY.

The period of time covered by the report is given in the second line of output. Times are Z or Zulu time, also know as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Zulu is 5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. When Daylight Savings Time is in effect (mid-Spring through mid-Fall), Zulu is 4 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time. In the sample below, the report ran from 1700Z Oct 24th through 1600Z Oct 25th. Since Daylight Savings Time was in effect at this time, this would translate to 13:00 or 1:00 pm on Oct 24th through 12:00 noon on the 25th.

Following the column headings, each line of the report is an hourly weather observation, going from the oldest (at the top) to most recent. The following are the contents of each column:

• The values in the "TIME" column are the hours of the report given in Z time (as described above).
• The "T" column contains the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
• "TD" is the dewpoint temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
• "DIR" is the direction from which the wind is blowing in degrees (0=calm, 90=east, etc.).
• "SPD" is the wind speed in miles per hour.
• "GST" is the speed of any wind gusts in miles per hour.
• "ALT" is the altimeter setting in inches of mercury.
• "SLP" is sea-level pressure in inches of mercury.
• "VIS" is visibility in miles.
• "CEIL" is ceiling height in hundreds of feet. The ceiling is the lowest layer of broken or overcast clouds.
• "COV" is the fraction of the sky covered by clouds. 0/8 indicates clear skies, 8/8 represents overcast, and 'FEW' means some clouds, but covering less than 2/8 of the sky.
• "WX" contains codes for weather conditions or obstructions to vision. 'R-' in the sample indicates light rain.
• "EXT", "PR6", and "PR24" rarely appear in these reports, but when present provide the temperature extremes within the last 12 or 24 hours, 6-hour precipitation amount, and 24-hour precipitation amount, respectively.

Sample

    The Surface Information Available for KBGM
    Starting: 1700Z 24 Oct 01 Ending: 1600Z 25 Oct 01

TIME   T  TD DIR SPD GST  ALT   SLP  VIS CEIL COV WX  EXT  PR6 PR24 SC
 17Z  64  59   0   7     29.73 29.72  10   89 6/8  
 18Z  65  58 240   5     29.71 29.71  10   89 6/8  
 19Z  65  58 320   3     29.71 29.71  10  100 8/8  
 20Z  60  58  30   9     29.71 29.71  10   38 8/8  
 21Z  61  58  50   7     29.70 29.70  10   89 6/8  
 22Z  60  58  50   5     29.70 29.70  10   70 8/8  
 23Z  59  57  50   7     29.70 29.70  10   60 2/8  
 00Z  58  57  70   3     29.70 29.70  10      0/8  
 01Z  56  56 120   6     29.69 29.69  10      0/8  
 02Z  59  58 150   7     29.68 29.68  10      0/8  
 03Z  60  57 150   8     29.67 29.66   9      0/8  
 04Z  61  57 150   8     29.64 29.64   8      0/8  
 05Z  -- NO REPORT --
 06Z  62  57 140  10     29.59 29.58   9      0/8  
 07Z  62  56 140  12     29.55 29.54   9      0/8  
 08Z  62  56 140  10     29.52 29.51  10      0/8  
 09Z  63  56 150  12     29.50 29.49  10   75 FEW  
 10Z  63  56 150  12     29.48 29.47  10      0/8  
 11Z  63  56 170  13  20 29.48 29.47  10  110 2/8  
 12Z  61  57 200  13     29.51 29.51   6   60 8/8 R-
 13Z  62  56 220  14  23 29.53 29.52  10   75 8/8  
 14Z  55  50 260  21  35 29.56 29.57  10   44 8/8 R-
 15Z  59  47 240  20  25 29.57 29.56  10   27 FEW  
 16Z  58  34 240  22  28 29.59 29.58  10      0/8