The Colorado Division of Aeronautics has announced that 52 new aviation weather cameras installed in partnership with the FAA’s Alaska Weather Camera Program are now operational. The cameras are located on 13 AWOS stations in Colorado and designed to provide a way for pilots to get a near-real-time visual picture of weather conditions in the Colorado Rockies before leaving the airport. They are the first weather cameras to be integrated into the FAA Weather Camera Program outside of Alaska.
“The Colorado Division of Aeronautics is excited to have had this opportunity to partner with the FAA in yet another joint effort to enhance aviation safety in Colorado,” said Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Aeronautics Director David Ulane. “The Division is proud to continue our heritage of pioneering new initiatives that further our mission to help advance a safe, efficient, and effective air and space system in Colorado.”
As previously reported by AVweb, the Colorado Division of Aeronautics allocated $226,000 to FAA for the weather camera project via a reimbursable agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the FAA assisted with the installations and the state of Colorado owns and maintains the cameras. The new weather cameras, along with those located at more than 230 sites in Alaska, can be accessed at https://weathercams.faa.gov.
Fantastic to see the FAA camera program expanding outside of Alaska. But I’m mystified as to why they only installed them where there’s already AWOS weather. Where we need cameras the most is where there isn’t already real time weather coverage.