It’s a question often asked when it comes to official weather reports for the City of San Antonio: Why are they taken at the airport?
While the official climate site for the city has bounced around a bit since consistent observations began in the 1880s, weather readings were officially moved to San Antonio International Airport in 1942.
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Benefits of an Airport Observation Station
There are several reasons why San Antonio and the vast majority of other cities around the nation record official weather reports at an airfield:
- Airports offer a big, open space. There’s not much around them, so instrumentation and sensors can be out in the open and not much will interfere with them.
- There are other key factors that airports provide when it comes to taking measurements of temperatures, winds, cloud cover, dewpoints, air pressure, and rain totals:
- A flat surface for the most accurate measurements.
- Thermometers are be able to take measurements about 1.5 - 2 meters above the ground and away from high structures and buildings.
- Anemometers are able to be mounted about 10 meters above ground level and positioned away from high structures and buildings.
- Rain gauges are also able to be mounted about four to six feet above the ground, away from high structures and buildings, and also positioned far from any surface that could splash additional rain into the gauge.
ASOS Stations
The nation-wide network that constantly reports these weather observations is called the ASOS (Automated Surface Observing Station) program.
This program was implemented as a joint-effort between the National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense (DOD). According to NOAA’s website, over 900 ASOS stations currently operate around-the-clock across the United States and its territories.
Previous SA Climate Sites
- When daily weather observations first started back in the 1880s, the first site was located in the Quadrangle at Fort Sam Houston.
- In 1891, recordings were then moved to the downtown area where the Weather Bureau was located. These buildings included the Dullnig Building, Alamo Insurance Building, Maverick Building, Hicks Building, a building with various names (313 E. Houston St), Alamo National Bank Building, and the Federal Building.
- Weather readings were then briefly moved to Stinson in 1941 before finding their permanent & current home at SA International in 1942.
For more information about these previous sites and the history of San Antonio’s weather reports, click here.
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