CHH RAOBs Ending

[vortex95]

NOUS41 KWBC 161520
PNSWSH

Service Change Notice 21-30
National Weather Service Headquarters Silver Spring MD
320 PM EDT Tue March 16, 2021

TO: Subscribers:
    -NOAA Weather Wire Service
    -Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
    -NOAAPort
    Other NWS Partners and Employees

FROM: Captain James Crocker, NOAA
     Director, Surface and Upper Air Division Office of
Observations

SUBJECT: NWS Upper Air Station at Chatham, MA, to permanently close
effective April 1, 2021

The NWS will cease all radiosonde observations (RAOB) and data
transmissions from the Chatham, MA, upper air site, after the
final sounding 12Z March 31, 2021. The WMO Site number is 74494
and the Site ID is KCHH.

These two AWIPS products will cease effective April 1, 2021.
These products are for the RAOB Mandatory (MAN) and Significant
(SGL) levels observations.

    WMO HEADING AWIPS PIL
    USUS41 KBOX MANCHH
    UMUS41 KBOX SGLCHH

Users should refer to upper air observations from the three
nearest NWS upper air sites: Brookhaven, NY, (72501); Albany,
NY, (72518); and Gray, ME, (74389).

Following decommissioning of the Chatham upper air station, when
weather conditions or circumstances warrant, these stations will
make supplemental observations.

Recent significant erosion of the coastal bluff where the
Chatham upper air station is located is a safety concern for the
personnel who launch radiosonde soundings.  The balloon
inflation building is at risk of loss from a landslide. For this
reason, the NWS will decommission the site on March 31, 2021,
and have the facility buildings demolished in April 2021.

The NWS is actively seeking a new site for upper air
observations in southeastern New England and will notify the
user community when property acquisition is made.

If you have questions or feedback, please contact:

Hiram Escabi, Jr., NCE, CET
Upper Air Program Manager
NWS Program Management Branch
Silver Spring, MD
301-427-9195
[email protected]

NWS Service Change Notices are online at:
https://www.weather.gov/notification/