The Oakland
Center Weather Service Unit (CWSU) is co located with the Federal Aviation
Administration's (FAA) Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC).
The CWSU is staffed by a team of National Weather Service Meteorologists.
Our office is open seven days a week from 5:00 am until 9:00 pm.
The CWSU uses
a variety of weather computers and other sophisticated equipment to provide
weather forecasts and hazardous weather advisories to the FAA and the
aviation industry. Two of our most important functions are:
1) to provide
hazardous weather warnings to enhance the safety and efficient flow of
air traffic through the Oakland ARTCC airspace.
2) to provide
detailed forecasts of weather conditions in the approach zone into San
Francisco International Airport, and to alert the FAA as to times
when corrective measures may be necessary to minimize weather delays and
airborne holding.
Our CWSU provides
formal weather briefings to FAA supervisors within the Oakland ARTCC.
Written and graphical forecasts are transmitted throughout the ARTCC three
times a day. Verbal briefings are given to individual controllers and
supervisors in the ARTCC and to other FAA facilities within the Oakland
ARTCC airspace as conditions dictate.
When necessary
our meteorologists issue Center Weather Advisories (CWA). The CWA is a
short- term warning of hazardous weather conditions provided to the aviation
community. The CWA is similar to but more localized than, AIRMETs and
SIGMETs issued by the Aviation
Weather Center (AWC).
The Oakland
Center Weather Service Unit operates the official National Weather Service
Climate Station for the City of Fremont. Weather records for the station
are available from the National
Climatic Record Center in Asheville, NC.
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