Weather observations

A weather observation records what a station measured and why it matters for a specific field operation. The farm coordinator enters the station, the observation date, the rainfall in inches and the alert threshold that applies to the planned work. A fungicide that needs a dry day after application might carry a threshold of 0.25 inches; a reading above that line means the spray should move.

Observations start as Draft and are submitted for review. A Domain Reviewer approves or rejects each one and the decision date is recorded. Only an approved observation becomes the reviewed weather advisory for the farm. The observation also carries a revision number, so the advisory that went out can always be traced to the reading the reviewer actually saw.

• Record against the operation. Each observation names the field operation it supports and its organization, so readings from one valley never drive advice in another.
• Compare with the threshold. The rainfall reading and the alert threshold sit side by side. The reviewer checks the reading against the agronomy evidence for the same operation before deciding.
• Approve, reject, complete. An approved observation is the advisory. A rejected one stays on record with its decision date. Completed marks an observation whose operation has closed.

Agree the list of stations and how they are named, so the same station is never spelled two ways. Agree the alert threshold for each kind of operation, and who may change it. Decide how quickly submitted observations must be reviewed on a spray day, and who covers when the reviewer is in the field. If readings come from a station network or weather service, agree which reading counts: the daily total or a reading at a fixed hour in the organization’s time zone.

A vineyard spray is authorized for May 15. On May 14 the farm coordinator records the valley station’s reading: 0.6 inches of rain, against a threshold of 0.25 inches for that product. She submits the observation. The Domain Reviewer sees it on Observations Awaiting Review, checks the station and the soil moisture evidence line for the block, and approves it. The approved advisory tells the grower to hold the spray.

The planner moves the spray to May 17, which raises the operation’s revision. A new observation for May 16 shows 0.05 inches, well under the threshold. The reviewer approves that one too, and the coordinator goes ahead. If the coordinator had typed the wrong station, the reviewer would have rejected the observation and asked for a corrected one.

• Weather Observation Log — Every observation by state, with station, date, rainfall and threshold.
• Draft Observations — The coordinator’s readings not yet submitted for review.
• Observations Awaiting Review — Submitted readings waiting for the reviewer’s decision.

• Weather observation to reviewed advisory: Submit, review and publish each advisory.

Connect your weather source before the first season.