Video camera technology has been utilized operationally at the Salt Lake City WFO since 1993 (Burch and McInerney 1993, 1994). Forecasters at the Salt Lake Weather Office view images of remote locations to augment observations of conventional National Weather Service observed data. Additionally, the images are updated on SLC's home page with other graphic and alphanumeric data to provide a Total Observation Concept (Burch and Zaff, 1996) on the Internet.
To evaluate this technology nationally, National Weather Service Headquarters provided funding for eight additional sites, covering five regions. At six locations, (Plentywood, Montana; Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota; Buffalo, New York; San Juan, Puerto Rico, Valdez, Alaska; and Grand Mesa, Colorado), the cameras will provide forecasters with observational information which is not available from ASOS, complementary technologies, or supplemental observations. At two sites (Wichita, Kansas; and Jacksonville, Florida), the objective of the video cameras is either to provide visual information which is not easily viewed at the office location, or to analyze whether the cameras can reduce the Hydro Met Tech (HMT) ASOS augmentation workload, by preventing the HMT from going outdoors to view weather conditions. Additionally, the Valdez, Alaska location is utilizing local software for analyzing weather conditions at the Alaska pipeline terminus. Recently, at the request of the ARH, an additional site has been established at Juneau.
Specifically, the demonstration project is testing two separate video systems. The first, developed by Environment Canada, and utilized at five forecast application sites, captures images on a scheduled interval and then transfers those images via phone line. The second, developed by Robot technologies, and utilized by the two ASOS augmentation sites, is a security-type video system.
The NWS has recently commenced evaluating the utility of the AXIS 240 Camera Server video system. This equipment allows the transfer of video images from remote locations via internet technology. The images are sent directly from the camera server to the host's home page. Testing of the unit is ongoing by the Federal Aviation Administration, The NWS Alaska Region Headquarters, and at the NWS-WFO, Salt Lake City.
The test commenced between May and August, 1997 and is scheduled for completion later this year. Preliminary results indicate the camera has aided in short-term forecasts. For example, the camera system has detected the onset, duration, and dissipation of fog. In another instance, a forecast was amended to mention rain, when raindrops were observed on the camera equipment. Each month, the respective offices critique the usefulness of the technology, and after the 12 month evaluation period, an assessment of the project will be determined at a Video Camera Workshop to be held at the WFO-SLC in September, 1998. An update on the results of the project will be presented