Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology

 
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Weather Observations Website - a new way to share weather information

13/02/2014

The Bureau of Meteorology has released a new public weather portal which allows weather enthusiasts to view and share observations, sightings and photos in real-time.

The Weather Observations Website (WOW) represents a collaborative partnership between the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and its British equivalent the Met Office, the UK’s national weather service. The new service will be trialled for the first time in Australia from today.

Assistant Director Observing Strategy and Operations, Dr Anthony Rea, said the data uploaded to the Weather Observations Website by the public would complement data delivered around the clock from more than 700 official Automatic Weather Stations across Australia.

“The Weather Observations Website provides a platform for the public to share weather information for any location in Australia helping communities connect with what is happening quite literally in their own backyard – or on the other side of the continent,” Dr Rea said.

“It’s easy to get involved and contribute, whether it’s submitting basic information such as ‘it’s raining here’, by uploading photos of current weather conditions such as storms, hail or tornados, or by delivering data from private, high-quality weather stations.

“While these observations won’t directly contribute to the Bureau’s official forecasts and warning services, the growing world of social networking means this platform has the potential to become a rich source of information for a large and growing audience,” he said.

The Weather Observations Website was developed by the Met Office. Launched in the UK in mid-2011, it has become one of the largest and most successful data sharing platforms for amateur weather enthusiasts in the world, and now has over 180 million weather observations.

Australian individuals, community groups and schools are invited to trial the new website and contribute valuable weather observations.

For further information go to:
http://bom-wow.metoffice.gov.uk