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<br />become affected by much larger macro-scale events. We anticipated <br />that by using this service we could cut down materially on our own <br />radar transmission time thereby reducing long-term maintenance <br />costs on the system. This year we recorded 880 hours of transmitter <br />time versus the 19-year average 913 hoursjyear---96% of average--- <br />while being a relatively heavy year for seeding operations with an <br />above average number of night/early morning storm periods. <br /> <br />In addition to the variety of weather products readily visible <br />on demand and any long-term maintenance cost savings, the DTN <br />service was particularly useful during several periods of radar <br />attenuation. One downside, however, was that when precipitation <br />did become heavy at the radar site, the satellite signals were <br />effectively blocked until the precipitation cleared or decreased <br />significantly. Nonetheless, this year the DTN service markedly <br />improved our overall visibility into the big picture (macro-scale) <br />storm events. <br /> <br />The WKWM meteorologist prepares the daily operational weather <br />forecasts at the the field office. During the day interim weather <br />data is accessed through the DUATS System. Between 11:00 a.m. and <br />11:30 a.m., COT, a daily forecast is usually complete and an <br />operational plan for the day is formulated. By 11:30 a.m. both are <br />telephoned to the pilots at sites remote from Lakin. Operational <br />requirements, administrative work, etc., normally are arranged <br />either before or after the dissemination of the forecast. Fig. 5 <br />shows an idealized flow chart of our daily operations. <br /> <br />15 <br />