National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

SAWRS Program

Supplemental Aviation Weather Reporting Stations

SAWRS defined - A facility where weather observations are taken, prepared, and transmitted by a local operator (NWS certified) under federal government supervision. A SAWRS is established at an airport (includes offshore platforms' helipads) when the FAA has determined that the weather observations are needed to satisfy Federal Aviation Administration Regulations 121 or 135, or for the safe conduct of other aircraft operations.

At present, WFO Lake Charles has 5 SAWRS located on oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. They are operated by PHI (Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.) and Air Logistics, Inc. We also have 3 inland sites.

 

OFFSHORE SITES

Site Name

Station I.D.

Coordinates

Operator

Location from Land

 High Island 264C

KH08

28° 28" N

93° 44" W

 PHI

 80 NM South of Cameron

 South Timbalier 300

KS58

28° 09" N

90° 43" W

 PHI

 85 NM South of Houma 

 

 Mississippi Canyon 778

KH78

28° 11" N

88° 29" W

 Air Log

 100 NM South of Cameron

 Ship Shoal 207A

KGSM

28° 32" N

90° 59" W

 Air Log

 65 NM South of Houma

 South Marsh 268A

KSRN

29° 07" N

91° 52" W

 Air Log

 48 NM South Southwest of Morgan City

Clicking a station I.D. will give you the station's latest weather information.
*Due to observation requirements, some observations in the tables may be several hours, and in some cases, days old.


During tropical weather events in the Gulf, these stations are extremely useful and greatly appreciated for their timely observations in dangerous weather situations in support of the National Weather Service and especially the National Hurricane Center.

Image of a PHI helicopter preparing to land on a platform in the Gulf

PHI helicopter preparing to land on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

INLAND SITES

Site Name

Station I.D.

 Intracoastal City, La.*

K7R4

 Amelia, La.*

K7R3

 Creole, La.*

K4C0

 Fourchon, La.

K9F2

 Grand Isle, La.**

KAXO

 Venice (Boothville), La.

KBVE

 Ellington Field, Tx.

KEFD

* within NWS Lake Charles County Warning Area

** temporarily inactive

 

The HydroMet staff's duties are:
  1. Sending supplies to each station.
  2. Station inspections (twice yearly) and upkeep of station history.
  3. Responding to questions from the stations.

For more in-depth information on SAWRS, click here.

For more about NWS certification, click here.

A link to Gulf Coast observations can be found by clicking here.

All observations are in METAR. A breakdown of the code can be viewed by clicking here.

A link to conversion tables is also available. Click here.