THE WEATHER? LOOK OUT THE WINDOW

Pilots who use Cape Girardeau Regional Airport are faced with a dilemma: whether to believe the weather-condition reports that emanate from the airport's automated weather system.

The airport's Automated Surface Observing System determines weather conditions for pilots, but it isn't always accurate. The system has two sensors that peer into the sky to gather readings. The sky can be mostly clear, but if there is one small cloud over the senors, the system interprets the conditions as poor.

To solve the problem, the airport wants to hook up a computer that would allow traffic controllers to put the correct information in when faulty readings occur. Controllers are hesitant to override the information with their personal observations because the system provides official weather observations, and they could assume some liability.

The computer would cost only about $3,000, but the airport can't get anyone high up in the National Weather Service to authorize and buy it. The reason? the observation system in use is deemed "accurate" by the NWS.

Before the system was installed, controllers could tell pilots what the weather was like at the airport simply by looking out the control tower window. In this case, pilots would be better served if they returned to that simple practice.