PORT TOWNSEND — A system that broadcasts real-time weather data is now up and running at Jefferson County International Airport.
The Automatic Weather Observation System (AWOS) began broadcasting last week after receiving final Federal Aviation Administration approval, said Larry Crockett, Port of Port Townsend director.
The system will provide area weather data to pilots landing at the airport 4 miles southwest of Port Townsend.
It also will provide real-time data to the National Weather Service and more accurate information about local weather conditions to commercial outlets such as newspapers, the Internet, radio and television, officials said.
“Airlift Northwest, which flies all the medevac out of here, has been asking for this for years,” Crockett said, referring to flights of injured or severely ill people to trauma centers such as Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
“All their helicopters are based on the Seattle side,” Crockett said.
“If they have to come over here because of a car wreck in the middle of the night, it’s nice for the pilots to know what they are flying into weather-wise.
“We can give that to them now.”
Pilots who are approaching the airport can tune into the system on their VHF radios at 119.1025 MHz for a continuous loop of weather conditions broadcast in a computerized voice.
The public now can hear weather conditions by calling 360-379-1199.
In the next few weeks, the public will be able to hear the same loop on smartphones and computers through a Web-based interface, Crockett said.
The system was constructed for less than was budgeted, according to Jim Pivarnik, port deputy director.
Estimated at $340,603, the total cost was $245,120, he said.
He attributed that mostly to the work that Bill Putney, an engineer and pilot who managed the project, volunteered for the project.
Pivarnik said 95 percent of the project was funded by the FAA and the state Department of Transportation. The port’s share was $12,200.
The system has two components: the weather tower near the runway and the computer controller located next to the Spruce Goose Cafe at 310 Airport Road.
They are connected by a fiber-optic wire that runs through a 4-inch conduit the port installed “because we didn’t want to have to dig up the runway every time we installed something new,” Crockett said.
Crockett said three people were essential in getting the AWOS up and running: Pivarnik, who coordinated the project; volunteer Putney, who managed the installation; and maintenance supervisor Larry Aase.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
