Stampede Pass is probably the most valuable of all of the National Weather Service first-order ASOS sites. No Weather Service site is more isolated, miles from any paved road. Stampede not only has the typical surface observations, but also possesses a laser ceilometer that describes the height of the cloud base above (which is very useful for pilots flying across the mountains).
In addition, Stampede Pass has a horizontal visibility sensor, a freezing rain sensor, and precipitation-type identifier. No other location near the Cascade crest has such a wide range of observing capabilities.
Let me show you a sample of observations from Stampede on Monday night...
Stampede Pass is also very valuable for climate studies, since there is no urbanization anywhere nearby. Here is the plot of the surface temperatures over the past 20 years there. I will let you decide if there is any global warming signal.
We should all be thankful for the substantial efforts of the National Weather Service in getting this critical observing location back online. The key problem was communication, with the repeated loss and degradation of the telephone line to the site. Fortunately, there was a good cellular signal and that allowed the use of cell modem, AFTER they figured how to interface an ancient 9600 baud modem to a modern communication system. Clearly, the National Weather Service needs to invest in updating the 30-year old communication hardware found in their primary observing system around the nation.
Stampede Pass is also very valuable for climate studies, since there is no urbanization anywhere nearby. Here is the plot of the surface temperatures over the past 20 years there. I will let you decide if there is any global warming signal.
We should all be thankful for the substantial efforts of the National Weather Service in getting this critical observing location back online. The key problem was communication, with the repeated loss and degradation of the telephone line to the site. Fortunately, there was a good cellular signal and that allowed the use of cell modem, AFTER they figured how to interface an ancient 9600 baud modem to a modern communication system. Clearly, the National Weather Service needs to invest in updating the 30-year old communication hardware found in their primary observing system around the nation.
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