Monitoring the Health of Surface-Based Observational Networks

The NCEP Meteorological Assimilation Data Information System (MADIS) provides access to millions of environmental observations every day that are obtained from government, academic, and commercial networks.  For many years, MesoWest/SynopticLabs (synopticlabs.org) has been providing publicly-accessible environmental observations to MADIS as well as a recipient of them from MADIS. Monitoring the reception and quality of the information available from diverse streams flowing to and from MADIS has become a substantial task. The following are interlocking critical components required in order to monitor continuously the health of contributing networks: (1) the operational status of sensors at weather stations within each network; (2) metadata that describes the information being collected; and (3) the quality of the information available to end users.

Using web-based technologies and the Mesonet API (synopticlabs.org/api), we created a real-time analytics software suite that focuses on real-time and retrospective monitoring of station and network status, metadata and quality control information. This information is then accessible in a number of ways including user-defined dashboards.   This software allows users to gain insight into the status of data available from publicly-accessible MADIS stations. MADIS quality control flags are accessible and supplemented by flags defined from additional quality and consistency tests.