RAWS STATION MEETING NOTES
A meeting was held on April 17, 2001, at Fire Station 64 in Olympia. The primary
objective was to make a prioritized list of RAWS stations, which represent largescale climatic zones for use as part of the national RAWS and automated
NFDRS systems.
Based on the analysis provided by the PNWCG Weather Working Team (WWT),
it has been determined that the following RAWS stations would make a
representative set of primary stations.
Area 1 Olympics
1
2
3
4
5
6
Station
Number
450117
450124
450129
450211
450312
450911
Station
Name
Cougar
Huricane
Herb Ridge
Owl Mtn (DNR)
Humptulips
Jefferson
Operating
Agency
NF-OLY
NPS-OL
WDNR-OLY
WDNR-OLY
NF-OLY
NF-OLY
Station
Type
RAWS
RAWS
RAWS
RAWS
RAWS
RAWS
Weather
Zone
652
652
650
652
652
652
Station
Name
Minot LO
Huckleberry Ridge
Abernathy
Operating
Agency
Station
Type
WDNR-CENT RAWS
WDNR-CENT RAWS
WDNR-SW RAWS
Weather
Zone
655
651
651
Area 2 Coastal
1
2
3
Station
Number
450306
450407
451209
Area 3 Western Washington Cascades
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Station
Number
451105
451412
451415
451509
451611
451613
451718
451921
Station
Name
Kosmos
Hozomeen
Sumas
Finney
Johnson
Gold Mtn (MBS)
Greenwater
Canyon Creek
Operating
Agency
Station
Type
WDNR-CENT RAWS
NPS-NC
Manual
WDNR-NW RAWS
NF-MBS
RAWS
NF-MBS
RAWS
NF-MBS
RAWS
WDNR-SP
RAWS
NF-GP
RAWS
Weather
Zone
659
658
658
658
658
658
659
660
Note: Herb Ridge will be moved this fire season to Ellis Mt. and issued a new
NWS station number. The Huckleberry Ridge site will be looked at to possibly
replace Willapa, which is now a DNR manual station. Hozomeen is currently a
manual site but will converted to a RAWS station this fire season.
If accepted by the PNWCG steering committee, these stations will be considered
priority sites. This means that the owners of the stations would accept the
following responsibilities for the key RAWS sites.
Priority Site Requirements:
1.
2.
2.
3.
4.
Maintain RAWS sites to all current and future NFDRS standards.
Purchase the latest required RAWS hardware and software.
Ensure minimum down time during the fire season.
Change reporting times to near 2pm LST for input into WIMS if necessary.
Provide on-going vegetation control and site maintenance.
While the RAWS stations listed here represent a subset of all weather stations
statewide, the WWT is not suggesting other stations statewide should be
removed or changed. These other stations are important for smoke
management, forecasting, research, IFPL’s , spot forecasts, etc. However, the
WWT is suggesting that all weather stations used should be maintained like
priority sites.
During the next 5-10 years, all manual stations will be replaced by RAWS type
stations and the current FAA stations now used in Washington will also be add to
the National Weather database. This will allow real-time analysis of fire danger
and weather conditions on a 24-7 basis. This may also lead to help in assessing
both current fire danger and dispatching as conditions change over the fire
season.
For background purposes, the data presented by the WWT can be downloaded
at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/fire/pnwcgfiles/weatherworkingt_/default.htm