ASOS
Transportation & Travel abbreviation · Aviation
| Stands for | Automated Surface Observing System |
|---|---|
| Categories | Transportation & Travel |
ASOS stands for Automated Surface Observing System, an aviation abbreviation.
Network of more than 900 automated weather stations in the United States, mostly at airports, run jointly by the National Weather Service, the FAA and the Department of Defense. ASOS stations generate the routine hourly METAR reports used by pilots, forecasters and climate records.
Example: The ASOS reported freezing rain and a quarter-mile visibility, so the airline began deicing every departure.
Usage notes
At larger airports human observers augment the automated report, adding details such as thunderstorms or volcanic ash; reports from unattended stations carry the word AUTO. A dollar sign at the end of the coded report means the station needs maintenance. Since deployment in the 1990s ASOS data have become a backbone of US climate records.
Related abbreviations
More aviation abbreviations
- AME – Aircraft maintenance engineer
- AOG – Aircraft on ground
- AP – Autopilot
- APU – Auxiliary power unit
- ARTCC – Air Route Traffic Control Center
- ASM – Available seat miles
- ATA – Actual time of arrival
- ATC – Air traffic control
- ATD – Actual time of departure
- ATIS – Automatic Terminal Information Service
- ATP – Airline transport pilot
- ATPL – Airline transport pilot licence