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
The Weather Network introduced new local weather products including an hourly forecast for the next 12 hours in 2006, long term precipitation forecasts in 2008 and improved satellite and radar maps in 2009. In 2009, The Weather Network was granted 9(1)("h") must-carry status by the CRTC, under the condition that Pelmorex develop a "national aggregator and distributor" of localized emergency alert messages. In early 2013, The Weather Network launched regional feeds, currently for Alberta and the Maritime provinces. Each feed features its own regional forecasts, weather stories, and where available, traffic information was provided by Beat the Traffic. On December 8, 2014, The