The Raob "Thanks" Reports program reports raob data set inventory as of selected quarter hour intervals, especially from 0:15 to 2:45 hours
after 00:00 and 12:00 UTC. It is during these intervals that the coded data sets would be expected to be disseminated from the stations. Users
may use this program to monitor receipt of raob data sets into the NCEP WCOSS (Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System)
where the data must arrive for model ingest and to receive inventorial credit. This program reports in near real time (seldom more than a one
minute delay) at the selected quarter hours, which makes it possible for station operations or managers to detect possible communication problems,
especially if their data sets did not post as expected. Note that all time references are UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), which is equivalent to
GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and Z (Zulu) time.
The Raob "Thanks" Reports program consists of four station groups.
The USA (NWS) group consists of United States National Weather Service (NWS) stations including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Pacific island
stations that are NWS sponsored.
The USA (other) group consists of blocks 70, 72, and 74 stations that are non-NWS sponsored. These stations are mostly military installations, but
can also be sponsored by NASA or other agencies.
The Latin America group consists of stations located in Mexico, Central America, South America, Caribbean Islands plus Bahamas and Bermuda.
Equivalently, blocks 76, 78, and 80 through 88 comprise this data group. Notice that San Juan (78526) is included in this group as well as the USA
(NWS) group.
The Canada group consists of all block 71 (Canada) stations. Any block 71 stations located beyond the Canadian provinces and territories are
listed last.
Raob data sets are reported as three data subsets or groups.
Group A consists of only part TTAA. A station will get capital A ('A') credit for reporting part TTAA with at least two levels of observations data. It is
presumed that one level of data will be the surface data. Therefore, an 'A' will be granted for at least one level of observational data aloft. A station
will get lower-case A ('a') credit for reporting part TTAA with no observational data. Neither 'A' nor 'a' credit will be granted for a missing TTAA.
Group B consists of parts TTBB/PPBB except only TTBB for those stations that report significant wind data within part TTBB. A station will get
capital B ('B') credit for reporting at least two levels of data (surface data plus at least one level aloft) including wind data in parts TTBB/PPBB or
only part TTBB. A station will get lower-case B ('b') credit for reporting at least part TTBB that contained no observational data or one level of data
which presumably was the surface data. Neither 'B' nor 'b' credit will be granted for a missing TTBB.
Group C consists of parts TTCC/TTDD/PPDD except only TTCC/TTDD for those stations that report significant wind data within part TTDD. A
station will get capital C ('C') credit for reporting at least one level of observational data including wind data in parts TTCC/TTDD/PPDD or only parts
TTCC/TTDD. A station will get lower-case C ('c') credit if parts TTAA and TTBB have no data or one level of observational data, and part TTDD
came in with no data. However, if part TTAA or TTBB contained more than one level of observational data, and the raob failed to reach 100 hPa
(mb), then NWS stations must send all three group C parts with the appropriate codes while all others are required to send only part TTDD that
contains no data to get 'c' credit. Otherwise, the station will get neither 'C' nor 'c' credit.
Whenever a station has earned all three capital letters (ABC), the denotation 'ABC' will be changed to 'THKS' (THANKS).
Examples: a - group A came in with insufficient data, and groups B and C were missing. AB - groups A and B came in with data, but group C was missing. ABc - groups A and B came in with data, but group C came in with no data. C - group C came in with data, but groups A and B were missing. AbC - groups A and C came in with data, but group B came in with no data. abc - all groups came in but none with sufficient data. THKS - all groups came in with sufficient data. THANKS!
