WPAFB Weather Station predictions keep personnel safe

  • Published
  • By Gina Marie Giardina
  • 88th Air Base Wing
Alarm clocks all over the Miami Valley ring awake Wright-Patterson Air Force Base personnel.

Bryan, who works in the 88th Air Base Wing, hears the snow plows scraping clean the roads outside his window.  Linda, an Air Force Research Laboratory employee, looks out on her lawn resting peacefully under a blanket of white. Michael is already making snow angels in the yard as his father Ben, who works in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, watches him out the kitchen window waiting for the coffee to brew.

These people with their different families and their different lives are all thinking the same thing:  I wonder if the base is closed today.

But the forecasters at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Weather Station likely predicted this snowfall long before the first flakes fell. This is true of most weather events during every season.

While these are just predictions, they are supported by a long history of weather-related data.

"What we are responsible for understanding and predicting impacts everybody," said James Lane, the senior operational forecaster at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Weather Station.

The Weather Station, one of five flights in the 88th Operations Support Squadron, is held together by six full-time contractors and one part-time contractor. The office operates 24/7, 365 days per year. This year, however, that number will leap to 366 days.

"All of the people in this office are dual-qualified, which means they can be either observers or forecasters," explained Lane. "Observers are qualified to take observations such as understanding the elements of wind, pressure, visibility, etc. and they report them correctly. Forecasters take that information from the observers and other information from various technologies to then make scientific assessments so they can make predictions about the upcoming weather."

Lane explained that years ago, these two qualifications used to be separate. There would be personnel qualified to observe and personnel qualified to forecast.  But with the various budget cuts, offices had to shrink so personnel are now rapidly trained to be qualified to do both as needed.

"The training now takes about three years and then these personnel are put into offices where they can then hone their skills with not only how to observe the elements of the atmosphere, but also how to forecast as well," said Lane.

The four other flights in OSS include Airfield Operations, which encompasses Airfield Management Operations (ground movement on the airfield) and air traffic control; Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems; Aviation Records Management, and a Munitions flight which is unique to the OSS here at Wright-Patterson.

Airfield Operations encompasses Airfield Management Operations (ground movement on the airfield) as well as air traffic control.  Personnel in the Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems deal with the equipment.  Aviation Records Management is the administrative piece to the puzzle and they have pilot flight records.

"The Operations Support Squadron basically takes care of everything on the airfield," said Lane. "These personnel keep the airfield and runways open."

And keeping the WPAFB airfield, with one of the longest runways in the Midwest, clear is a joint effort that is greatly supported by the predictions of the Weather Station personnel.

"The weather here in the Midwest latitudes is different every day," said Lane. "Like today, it could snow. Tomorrow, it won't. The next day-- maybe rain."

When alarms ring awake base personnel to snowy landscapes and snow-dusted roadways, Lane offers his advice to motorists.

"Slow down, take some extra time, and use common sense," Lane said.