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KDSN RADIO News

Friday, March 10, 2023

Denison Airport Awaiting Weather Reporting System Upgrades

Denison Airport Awaiting Weather Reporting System Upgrades

Denison is currently in a holding pattern as they wait for the Iowa DOT to upgrade the Automated Weather Observation System at the airport. 

Airport Manager Ryan Leed is a pilot himself with decades of experience and he says accurate data is a huge safety factor, especially in hazardous weather. 

“Weather is dynamic. It can change very quickly. So it's very important to have the latest surface conditions. Winds and atmospheric pressure settings are important. Ceiling, cloud heights, and visibility are critical for instrument approach procedures and decision-making," said Leed. 

If you check the National Weather Service page for Denison, Iowa often as we do here at KDSN, you may have noticed that it is not providing current observations lately. Leed says the state is responsible for the system at the airport which is operating but stopped sharing information properly in November. “Their service contractor determined it's an underground cabling issue where data is not able to be disseminated into the National Weather Service's system," said Leed. 

He says the plan is to upgrade the system with a wireless radio transmitter at a cost of between $7,000 and $10,000. 

"It'll just be modernized. Getting away from underground cabling will eliminate this kind of issue going forward. It'll be much more reliable. The equipment has been ordered and there are significant delays due to supply chain issues," said Leed. 

Leed says there is no return-to-service date yet but he hopes to get an update soon.

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