AIRPORT WEATHER WATCHERS TREATED TO MUCH MORE THAN WEATHER

As a weather watcher for Midwest Weather Services, Jeff Dahms has observed a lot more than weather at the Midwest Weather Service observation station at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport.

Dahms has seen everything from a U.S. president to rock stars as they arrive at the airport. When he isn't watching people, Dahms has a front row seat to the glorious beauty of nature at sunset, the power and magnitude of a raging thunderstorm, or the antics of the airport coyotes and rabbits.

Dahms, 26, who is originally from Illmo now Scott City spent most of his youth in Waukesha, Wis. He returned to Scott City with his family in 1983 just in time to graduate from Scott City High School in 1985.

Dahms had just graduated from a technical school in Paducah, Ky., and was looking for work when a cousin who is a job counselor at the Cape Girardeau Job Services Office told him about the weather observation job that was open at the airport.

"At that time the job paid $4 an hour, which was $4 more than I was making at the time," said Dahms. "So I went down to the airport, got a copy of the study manual and passed the National Weather Service's observer test."

Dahms was one of the first observers hired in October 1987, having taken over weather observations at the airport on the night that the FAA flight service station was decommissioned. The other weather observers are John Perry, Jerry Canady and Steve Landewee. The Cape Girardeau station manager is Don Semancik, a retired meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The airport weather station is part of a network of privately-contracted Federal Aviation Agency, National Weather Service, and military weather observation stations scattered throughout the world. The collection of hourly weather data is a cooperative effort among nations because the lives of so many people depend on weather.

Observations are taken at least each hour 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. The weather data is also used by the National Weather Service in preparation of both aviation and public weather forecasts for this region.

At about 45 minutes after each hour, Dahms goes out to a white, wooden, instrument shelter near the control tower. He takes the air temperature and the "wet bulb" temperature, which gives the dew point and humidity.

If there has been any precipitation, it's measured at the rain gauge near the shelter. At the same time, the observer looks at the sky for the amount and type of clouds, and their height above ground.

At a console inside the weather station the observer reads the barometer to determine both sea level and station-location pressure, wind speed and direction.

At about 50 to 55 minutes after the hour, the data is typed into a portable computer terminal and transmitted to a central computer. The data is eventually transmitted to the weather service, FAA, military and other agencies that send it out over their own networks.

As a courtesy, Midwest Weather also provides the weather data to the local news media, although it is not required to do so.

In addition to the hourly observations at 6 a.m., noon, 6 p.m., and midnight, the observer also takes the 12-hour and 24-hour high and low temperature readings.

To make sure the on-duty observer doesn't forget an observation, a timer on the console sounds a tone at 45 minutes after the hour as a reminder.

Dahms said when the weather is quiet, the work tends to be somewhat boring, although it does provide time for reading or studying for continuing education.

When the weather turns sour, things get interesting, and sometimes just a little tense. "Any unusual change in the local weather conditions must be reported at once," said Dahms. "Sometimes we'll make as many as three to four special observations in a single hour in addition to the hourly observation."

Dahms said a recent example was last November when a line of severe thunderstorms accompanied by strong winds moved through the Cape Girardeau area. "It's important that this weather data be transmitted as soon as possible so the weather service can issue storm warnings and the FAA can advise pilots of hazardous flying conditions in their flight path," he said.

Dahms said when the November storm passed over the airport, the peak wind gusted to 62 mph, causing the windows in the airport terminal building to bend in and out from the difference in air pressure.

"When I looked at the air speed indicator, and it was over 60 mph, I decided it was time to move into the other room away from all of that glass," he said. The airport terminal building does not have a basement for storm protection.

If an aircraft emergency or crash occurs somewhere in the area, the on-duty weather observer also takes a special weather reading for the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.

When he's not watching the weather, Dahms says there are a lot of other things to watch at the airport. During the day he watches the arrival and departure of Trans World Express flights and other private and corporate aircraft.

Other airport personnel such as Airport Manager Mark Seesing, whose office is a few steps away, stops by occasionally to chat. Flight line personnel from Cape Central Airways, the airport's fixed base operator, drop in once in a while.

But most often, especially after midnight, the on-duty weather observer is about the only person at the airport except for Cape Girardeau police officers who make regular patrols of the airport grounds and buildings during the night.

That can sometimes lead to spooky experiences for the observer. "The building creeks and groans at night," said Dahms. "When you're alone, and its quiet inside and the wind is blowing outside, it does get a little creepy in here."

Recalling the visit of then-President Ronald Regan, Dahms remembers watching the advance team of Secret Service agents literally measure the entire airport prior to the arrival of the president. Dahms was there to watch the arrival of the president and the media plane that preceded Air Force One.

When there are no humans to observe, Dahms enjoys watching the coyotes play in the soybean field west of the airport tarmac. "They're pretty shy. They won't come onto the tarmac; they stay at the edge of the field," he said.

On the other hand, Dahms said wild rabbits like to huddle up in a group on the south side of the control tower on a cold and windy night, away from the wind. He can see them outside his window. "They're so used to us that they don't even move when we go out to take our weather observations," he said.

On one occasion, Dahms said he observed someone attempting to steal gasoline near the airport tank farm. His quick call to police enabled them to nab the thief red-handed.

Dahms said Mother Nature provides some interesting sights. "I've seen some beautiful sunsets and the glory of the heavens at night on a clear and cold night," he said. "Watching a thunderstorm far to the west with lots of lighting is also a unique experience."