National Weather Service weather thresholds (e.g. conditions change from visual meteorological conditions to instrument meteorological conditions). The basic weather elements observed are: sky condition, visibility, present weather, obstructions to vision, pressure, temperature, dew point, wind direction and speed, precipitation accumulation, and selected significant remarks. The coded observations are issued as METARs and look similar to this: Getting more information on the atmosphere, more frequently, and from more locations is the key to improving forecasts and warnings. Due to the large installation and operating costs associated with ASOS, the stations are widely spaced. Therefore, the Cooperative Observer Program (COOP), a network of approximately 11,000
Weather warning [increasing] significantly, but its occurrence, location, and/or timing is still uncertain"" and a warning as ""hazardous weather or hydrologic event [that] is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring"" . Additionally, the NWS breaks down weather warnings and watches based upon the specific type of hazardous weather. These warnings and watches include, but are not limited to, flooding, severe local storms, tropical cyclones, and winter storms. In Canada, governmental weather warnings and watches are issued by the Environment Canada. Non-governmental alerts, not watches or warnings, such as a "rotation detected" or "tornado reported" are issued by