Weather buoy tropical Pacific Ocean helped study the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Moored weather buoys range from in diameter, while drifting buoys are smaller, with diameters of . Drifting buoys are the dominant form of weather buoy in sheer number, with 1250 located worldwide. Wind data from buoys has smaller error than that from ships. There are differences in the values of sea surface temperature measurements between the two platforms as well, relating to the depth of the measurement and whether or not the water is heated by the ship which measures the quantity. The first known proposal for surface weather observations at
Significant weather advisory broadcast television stations have begun including significant weather advisories into their systems, however, these systems usually classify such an advisory terms such as "Heavy T-Storms", "Heavy Storms" or "Strong T-Storms" (terms used by the system prior to the inclusion of the product). The National Weather Service in the United States issues a significant weather advisory for strong thunderstorms (and occasionally, other weather situations such as downbursts) that may pose limited to no threat to life and property; it is typically issued if the hail size in a thunderstorm is one-half to one inch in diameter, and/or winds of 35 to