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
Zero-profit condition Zero-profit condition In economic competition theory, the zero-profit condition describes the condition that occurs when an industry or type of business has an extremely low (near-zero) cost of entry. In this situation, many people tend to join the industry, seeing the opportunity to make money, until there is no more money to make (supply exceeds demand); the large amount of competition limits each person's share of the market, as well as their ability to pursue a large profit margin. This would represent a situation of almost perfect competition. For instance, despite the real estate boom of the mid-2000s, the incomes