Getting the most out of AmbientCWOP
Settings, calibration, troubleshooting, and everything else that comes up after you've connected a station. If something's not covered here, the Facebook group below is the fastest way to ask.
Community
Our Facebook group is the fastest place to get help and talk with other station owners.
Letter to all CWOP station owners
Read the letter to all CWOP station owners →
Please make sure you understand and are willing to adhere to these guidelines before you sign up for CWOP.
Recommended station settings
Ambient Weather update interval: 1 minute (set this on your Ambient Weather device)
CWOP update interval: 5 minutes (set this in your Control Panel)
Sensor & barometer calibration
Please ensure your station's sensors are working properly and that your sensors are correctly calibrated.
Specifically, double check your barometer calibration (both absolute and relative) and make certain it's correct. We use your absolute barometer reading with your station elevation to determine the pressure value sent to CWOP.
Stale weather data policy
If your Ambient Weather station has not sent an update in 2× your CWOP update interval, your weather data is considered stale.
- CWOP update interval of 5 minutes → stale if no update is seen in 10 minutes.
- CWOP update interval of 30 minutes → stale if no update is seen in 60 minutes.
CWOP updates are suspended until your station starts sending observations again. A stale station shows up flagged in your Control Panel — click Details next to it to see what's going on.
Station details not updating / station missing
If you added or removed a station, changed its location, or added/removed temperature or humidity sensors on your Ambient Weather dashboard, those changes won't automatically show up in your AmbientCWOP Control Panel.
Click Refresh Station Information in your Control Panel to pull the latest information from Ambient Weather.
Ambient Weather help & information
CWOP help & information
Request a CWOP ID number by clicking here. You'll get a welcome email within a few days giving instructions on the next steps.
On rare occasions the captcha security code takes a few tries when submitting the form — it is not case sensitive. If you can't get it to work, email [email protected] with your callsign, nearby town, zip code, and elevation in meters (not feet).
After you've obtained your CWOP identifier and started submitting data, you should receive an email from a NOAA/MADIS representative confirming your station's latitude, longitude, and elevation in meters (not feet).
When NOAA/MADIS emails you to confirm your station, you must reply to that email and confirm those details are correct.
Once you reply and your latitude, longitude, and elevation are confirmed by NOAA/MADIS, your station will be added to the MADIS ingestion list and assigned a MADIS ID. It can take up to two weeks for your observations to initially pass MADIS QC and become available on sites other than findU.
Documentation to get started:
Replace weather station
To replace your weather station:
- Log into your Control Panel.
- Click Configure next to your old station and note your CWOP ID and elevation.
- Remove your CWOP ID from your old station.
- Make sure your new weather station is in your Ambient Weather dashboard.
- Click Refresh Station Information in your Control Panel.
- Click Configure next to your new station and enter your CWOP ID and elevation.
Change weather station location
To change your weather station's location:
- Update your station's latitude and longitude on your Ambient Weather dashboard.
- Click Refresh Station Information in your Control Panel.
Where does my CWOP data end up?
After your observations are ingested by NOAA's MADIS, they can be picked up by a number of weather services. Below is a partial list:
Click here for a comprehensive list (thanks, galfert on WXForum)