Have a weather station? Join CWOP and help improve weather forecasts and warnings!

Join the Citizen Weather Observer Program

Are you a weather enthusiast with your own private weather station capable of sending data to the internet? If so, we would love your help! Please consider joining the Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP). With its roots in the Amateur Radio world, it provides everyone the means to share their weather station measurements with the world. National Weather Service Offices around the country then use your data when monitoring and forecasting the weather, and issuing hazardous weather warnings. TV meteorologists, Emergency Managers, scientists and citizens alike can view your weather station data via websites like MesoWest and others. These data are also ingested into computer forecast models, which lead to more accurate forecasts and warnings for your area. So your observations, especially those in the more remote areas of Colorado, are extremely valuable!

Weather observations that are sent to CWOP are ingested into the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System or MADIS. MADIS is a vast database of meteorological observations collected and shared around the world. To see a map of weather stations which make up the MADIS database, you can go HERE or click on the map below.

Pan and zoom around on the map to see weather stations near you. More stations will appear as you zoom in. (Note: the "Stations displayed" section at the bottom left of the screen displays the percentage of stations visible. 100% means all stations are displayed at that zoom level. You may occasionally need to hit the Refresh button on the lower right side below the map.) If your weather station is in an area where few or no other stations exist, then we need your help!

"I'm interested! So, what do I need to do?", you ask. First you will need compatible software for your weather station that will allow it to send data to the internet. Check with your weather station's vendor for details about the software needed to do this. If you are already sending data to internet sites (like Weather Underground), then all you will need to do is sign up with CWOP, receive a unique station identifier, and make a few minor configuration changes within your weather station's software to tell it to send your data to the CWOP (see the instructions manual for your weather station/software). In return, your observations will become a part of a vast citizen's science movement, utilized by scientists and meteorologists worldwide to improve weather monitoring, forecasting and warnings.

For more detailed instructions on signing up and configuring your weather station for CWOP, our colleagues at the El Paso National Weather Office have put together a great webpage that can help with everything from choosing a weather station, proper siting of the instruments, and signing up with CWOP. Of course if you have any questions, you can contact us at the National Weather Service Office in Pueblo CO via Facebook or the contact information at the bottom of this page.

Thanks,

National Weather Service Pueblo Forecast Team