METEO-Cert Acceptance Procedure for Automatic Weather Stations Joël Fisler, Coordinator Partner Networks at MeteoSwiss

Content Overview of partner networks and partners METEO-Cert Overview: Goals, Procedure, Criteria METEO-Cert Inspection Results 2013 to 2016 METEO-Cert Examples Conclusions & Question

Who are our partners? Agrometeo Kanton St. Gallen; Baudepartement Amt der Vorarlberger Landesregierung Kanton Thurgau ARPA Lombardia Kanton Wallis; Dienststelle für Umweltschutz ARPA Piemonte Kanton Wallis; Dienststelle für Wald und Landschaft Associazione Italiana di Aerobiologia AIA Kanton Zug; Tiefbauamt Axpo AG Kanton Zürich; AWEL (ZH) Bundesamt für Strassen Kanton Zürich; Tiefbauamt Bundesamt für Umwelt NABEL Liechtensteinische Landesverwaltung Canton de Vaud (VD) Medizinische Universität Wien Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) Météo-France Eidg. Forschungsanstalt Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL MeteoGroup Schweiz AG Eidg. Institut für Schnee- und Lawinenforschung SLF Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta Flughafen Genf Repubblica e Cantone Ticino; Ufficio del monitoraggio ambientale Flughafen Zürich Repubblica e Cantone Ticino; Ufficio dei corsi d'acqua (TI) Gebäudeversicherung glarnerSach République et canton de Genève (GE) Gemeinde Burgdorf République et canton de Neuchâtel inNET Monitoring AG Réseau National de la Surveillance Aérobiologique RNSA Kachelmannwetter GmbH Schweizer Armee - Luftwaffe Kanton Aargau; Abteilung für Umwelt Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB Kanton Aargau; Abteilung Landschaft und Gewässer (AG) Schweizerische Rettungsflugwacht REGA Kanton Bern; AWA (BE) Schweizerischer Nationalpark SNP Kanton Bern; Tiefbauamt Servizio meteorologico della Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano Kanton Graubünden sol-E Suisse AG Kanton Luzern; Umwelt und Energie (LU) Vorarlberger Illwerke AG Kanton Luzern; Tiefbauamt Windguru Kanton Solothurn (SO) Windspots Sàrl Kanton St. Gallen; AWE (SG) Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik (ZAMG) We work with over 50 partners to exchange meteorological data.

There are around 2000 partner stations in the MeteoSwiss DataWareHouse.

Goals of METEO-Cert The goals of METEO-Cert are: Create a quality label for automatic weather stations Comparability between MeteoSwiss and partner stations Higher credibility for extreme values Systematic acquisition and publication (App, Website) of metadata on a regular basis And last but not least as a national weather service we have to fulfil the WMO requirements!

METEO-Cert Procedure Pre-Analysis Audit on site Post-Analysis (Auditor) Audit on site (Auditor & Operator) Post-Analysis (Operator) Operator = Meteorological service, e.g. MeteoSwiss or private company Auditor = Neutral third-party organization conducting assessment (METAS) Cycle repeated every 5 years!

Quality Labels of METEO-Cert Fully compliant All WMO requirements fulfilled Compliant Most requirements fulfilled Not compliant / Special Site Some important WMO requirements not fulfilled! Be aware of the limitations and use data with caution.

Criteria assessed in METEO-Cert The quality of a station is influenced by many factors. METEO-Cert does take into account 100 criteria per station summarized in the following categories: Instrument Siting and Exposure Maintenance and Observer Post-Analysis

Criteria group 1 Some requirements used in METEO-Cert: Instrument Siting and Exposure Maintenance and Observer Post-Analysis Criteria group 1 Some requirements used in METEO-Cert: Achievable measurement uncertainty (see example) Ventilation Heating Protection …

Criteria group 2 METEO-Cert includes the following criteria: Instrument Siting and Exposure Maintenance and Observer Post-Analysis Criteria group 2 METEO-Cert includes the following criteria: CIMO Siting Classification Measurement Height Correct station exposure Rain gauge not mounted on roof …

Criteria group 3 METEO-Cert includes the following criteria: Instrument Siting and Exposure Maintenance and Observer Post-Analysis Criteria group 3 METEO-Cert includes the following criteria: How often are instruments calibrated (in lab)? How often does operator do control measurements on site? How often is maintenance by warden done? Is there an automatic data control? Is there a parallel measurement?

Criteria «Uncertainty of Instruments» (See CIMO Guide, Annex 1D) Sensor Fully Compliant Compliant Temperature 0.2 K 1 K Humidity 3% 10% Pressure 0.15 hPa 1 hPa Wind speed 15% Wind direction 5° 10° Precipitation 5% Radiation 2% Sunshine

METEO-Cert: Report example

Results: Summary 2013-2016 A total of 806 instruments (mounted on 185 stations) were inspected by METAS from 2013 to 2016: Operator 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total MeteoSwiss 101 149 184 156 590 Partner 90 102 22 2 216

Results: Overall summary

Example 1 “Not Compliant”: Wind at PSI Würenlingen

Example 2 “Not Compliant”: Rain, Wind and Radiation in Stabio

Example 3 “Not Compliant”: Partner Stations

Example 4 “Fully Compliant”

Conclusions The acceptance procedure METEO-Cert… works!  Meaning: It delivers meaningful results is objective and reproducible led to the improvement/relocation of stations generates metadata that is stored in the MeteoSwiss DataWareHouse (DWH) and can be used by applications results are integrated in the MeteoSwiss data retrieve tools and published in condensed form on website and app will be an important source of information for future generations if 5-year-cycle is kept up is expensive   CHF 1000.- to 1500.- per station

Publication J. Fisler, M. Kube, C. Stocker, E. Grüter (Switzerland): «Quality Assessment using METEO-Cert: The MeteoSwiss Classification Procedure for Automatic Weather Stations», Instruments and Observing Methods, Report No. 126, WMO Geneva; available at https://library.wmo.int/opac/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=19954#.WYrd2oR96Un

Joël Fisler joel.fisler@meteoschweiz.ch Tel. +41 58 460 94 33 Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!