Dugway Proving Ground's Mission Support Meteorological Observation Systems

Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) is a U.S. Army installation of over 800,000 acres in the West Desert of Utah whose mission is to “execute efficient testing and support to enable our Nation’s defenders to counter Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Explosive (CBRE) hazards.” On-site meteorologists write forecasts, issue Watches, Warnings, and Advisories for the range, and monitor weather conditions critical to mission success. The Meteorology branch has over one hundred automated remote weather stations in various locations across the range, as well as outside the border of DPG. Temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and rainfall are just some of the parameters recorded. In addition to the large network of remote weather stations, the Meteorology branch at Dugway is equipped with an X-band mobile dual polarization doppler radar, a C-band dual polarization radar, radar wind profilers, SODARs, portable 32m instrument towers, ceilometers, radiosonde systems, sonic anemometers, 3D lightning mapping array, and other specialized meteorological instrumentation. The National Center for Atmospheric Research under funding from the Army Test and Evaluation Command has developed a web-based interface known as 4DWX that displays observations and forecast data from a high-resolution numerical model specifically designed to account for the unique climate and weather experienced at DPG. Within the framework of 4DWX, a historical archive of observation data is also contained. This poster presentation will provide an overview of weather support capabilities crucial to completing the DPG mission.