Weather Reporting Services Important At Estevan Airport

Knowing what the weather is doing and will do can be quite handy. However, it becomes vitally important once you go to fly in those conditions.

That said, the City of Estevan recently renewed a lease agreement with NavCanada to keep manned weather reporting facilities at the Estevan Regional Airport for the next two years.

Mike Porter is an experienced weather observer at the airport, and he explained the role that he and his colleagues perform.

"Basically our main job is reporting the weather. What we are doing is going out and finding what we call the sky condition, which means looking at what we have for different types of clouds. Then we check the visibility, which is important as well, and then anything else that we happen to see that we deem is important to the pilots."

"This information then helps them to determine what is going on at the airport weather-wise. Especially in the summertime, when you start getting thunderstorms, it gives them a general idea as to where those storms are situated," he added.

Porter noted that this is very important for the small aircraft that lack radar or the ability to fly above or around the violent systems.

"It's also important as far as record keeping. We're keeping track of temperatures, and snow and rain accumulation."

He said that among those who especially benefit from the service provided is the STARS Air Ambulance.

"Their helicopters don't attain the flying height that a lot of the planes do, so they are relying on our judgement as to what the weather is at the time around the city and the region. They need to know what the conditions are to make the decision whether or not it is safe for them to come and do what they need to do."

The provincial water bombers that frequent the airport benefit as well.

"A lot of times they are flying a very long distance to drop water on a fire, and then flying back, as many as four times in a day. For them, they need to know what the weather is going to be like."

Porter mentioned that the weather office was proven useful to the Snowbirds aerobatic team when they performed in town as well.

However, technology is advancing fast, and the possibility is present that the currently staffed facilities could switch to fully automated systems.

Porter noted that the automatic equipment reports weather relatively well. However, it can only call what it can see, usually whatever is directly above the airport. Other conditions can go unnoticed and potentially cause hassle or danger for the pilots.

"If it's a large enough thunderstorm, they may have to judge as to whether or not they have enough time to make it back to the airport to land and seek shelter, and that's happened a number of times."

He shared that the decision whether or not to have a manned facility could come down to NavCanada's willingness to pay a 24 hour staff.

"I think that a lot of pilots still like having somebody there, and we try to do the best that we can to report the weather as accurate as possible. It's always nice to have that person that can go out, take a look at the sky and pick out certain things that an automated device might not."

"The job has it's rewards. For example, if you are working a night shift you will see a sunset and a sunrise, and not a lot of people can say that," he expressed.

For Doug Reetz, an experienced professional pilot and local flight instructor, the most important element is reliability.

"If the observations are not accurate and timely, then an automated system would be better."

"Obviously, a human eye can see things that the other perhaps won't, but only if it is done reliably," he added.

"It's very important to know what the weather situation is, and what it is anticipated to be so that we can have a safe flight."

He noted that, overall, the facilities at the Estevan Airport are very important to the region.

"We are the only observation station in southeast Saskatchewan left, and it's vital whether it be automatic or human. We need to keep that service, no matter the format."