NWS Wants Ideas to Modernize Volunteer Weather Watchers
Published Date: 5/7/2026
Notice
Summary
The National Weather Service wants your thoughts on updating its long-running volunteer weather network, COOP, to use new tech that collects data faster and easier. This change affects volunteers and anyone who uses weather data, aiming to fill gaps and reduce volunteer work without costing them money. You’ve got until June 8, 2026, to share your ideas and help shape the future of weather watching!
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Network Footprint Optimization of ~6,700 Sites
The NWS intends to 'right-size and optimize the scope and coverage' of the existing ~6,700-site COOP network, including increasing observations in data-sparse regions. Public input is requested to identify places where COOP is the sole or primary observation source.
Move to Automated Commercial Sensors
The NWS plans to upgrade aging COOP equipment with commercially available automated weather systems and automate data collection to reduce the burden on volunteer observers. This modernization explicitly targets the existing COOP network that has provided data since 1890 and covers about ~6,700 sites.
Possible Shift to Sub-Hourly Reporting
The NWS is considering moving COOP from daily reports toward a real-time, sub-hourly reporting cadence and is seeking feedback on the utility of that shift. Stakeholders are asked about the value of sub-hourly data and which additional automated parameters would be useful.
Use of State and Private Mesonets to Augment COOP
The NWS plans to integrate high-quality state and private mesonet data to augment the federal COOP backbone where appropriate, and requests feedback on conditions under which external networks could substitute for federal stations.
Protecting Snowfall and Snow-Depth Records
Because most commercial automated systems lack sensors for snowfall and snow depth, the NWS is explicitly seeking strategies to maintain continuity of snowfall and snow depth data during automation and modernization.
Volunteer Role May Shift to Site Stewardship
The NWS is considering how volunteer duties might change from daily manual observations to roles focused on site stewardship and impact reporting, and requests feedback on volunteer engagement and interest if sites are automated.
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