The
Citizen Weather Observer Program (
CWOP) is a network of privately owned electronic
weather stations concentrated in the United States but also located in over 150 countries. Network participation allows volunteers with computerized weather stations to send automated surface weather observations to the
National Weather Service (NWS) by way of the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS). This data is then used by the
Rapid Refresh (RAP) forecast model to produce short term forecasts (3 to 12 hours into the future) of conditions across the
United States' lower 48 states. Observations are also re-distributed to the public.