Abstract

Techniques for identifying weather have traditionally relied on human judgement. In recent years, devices have been introduced to make automatic weather observations, but their ability to identify weather is quite limited. For example, most automatic devices can only measure the total water content of the precipitation and are unable to identify the type of precipitation such as rain, snow, or hail without the help of human observers. Recent efforts devoted to the effects of precipitation [1] on visible and infrared wave transmissions through the atmosphere suggest that optical identification of weather may provide an inexpensive and reliable method for monitoring weather conditions, making possible more complete weather sensing at automated weather stations.

© 1985 Optical Society of America