Full details of both are given below, and you can make your own choice. These are available from the Bureau of Meteorology, but we think our own Australian Weather News implementation of the data works better with DA. While global data sources will give you a thin coverage of Australia, you should use data from all available Bureau of Meteorology stations. AWN splits them up with decoded METARs and SPECIs under Current > AWS obs and detailed decoded SYNOPS under Current > Synoptic Obs. So during daylight saving time our major observation is at 2200, 2230, 2300, 23 UTC, depending on which state you're in.ĭecoded METAR, SPECI and SYNOP data is all rolled into the same human-readable tables on the Bureau of Meteorology site where they are called "Observations". Our main synoptic hours are based on local clock time, with 9am being the most important. Australia is one of the very few countries that is non-standard.In most countries, SYNOP observations are made and transmitted each 3 hours at 00, 03, 06, 09, 12, 15, 18 and 21 Universal Time ( UTC) with 00, 06, 12 and 18 often carrying more information.
The code is managed by the WMO and here is a summary of what it means.Unlike METARs which are designed to serve the aviation industry, SYNOPs exist to serve weather forecasters and those with a specific interest in weather. SYNOP is an abbreviation of surface SYNOPtic observation and is a code that has been used for decades as the main means of transmitting weather information around the world. An increasing number of AWSs at airports are fitted with instruments to measure horizontal visibility and cloud amounts and base heights, so any sudden reduction in visibility or cloud base may generate a SPECI as well.SPECIs are sent to report heavy rain, sudden increase or direction change of wind, strong gusts, or sudden temperature variations.
Australian data - from Australian Weather News.Australian data - from the Bureau of Meteorology.Here are some notes and links to help Australian DA users.
Visit Tim's site at Weather Graphics, or participate in the Weather Graphics Forum where you'll find many like-minded people from around the globe who use DA to satisfy their fascination with weather, or in connection with their professional or recreational activities. Program for plotting and analysing real-time raw weather data freely available If you're really interested in the weather, grab a copy of Digital Atmosphere (DA) and begin exploring.Ītmosphere is Tim Vasquez's excellent and inexpensive World weather maps Radar & Lighting AWS obs Synoptic obs Rain & rivers Daily data Today's daily summary DA Page Weather: Forecasts Current Recent & climate Severe Know-how Mobile