Which system provides automated weather observations using sensors, a processor, and a voice transmitter?

• A. ASOS
• B. ATIS
• C. AWOS
• D. ADS-B

Answer: (C)

Automated weather observation systems gather data with on-site sensors, have a processor to format and verify the information, and broadcast the results to pilots. The system that uses sensors, a processor, and a voice transmitter is AWOS, Automated Weather Observing System. It continuously measures conditions like wind and wind speed, visibility, cloud height, temperature, dew point, and barometric pressure, then speaks the observations over a voice channel so pilots can hear the current weather in the cockpit. ATIS is a voice broadcast of airport information and weather, but it isn’t the on-site sensor-based observation system. ADS-B is for surveillance, not weather reporting. ASOS is another automated weather system, but AWOS is the term that emphasizes the automated weather observation broadcast.