What is a NOTAM and what purpose does it serve for RAWS operations?

• A. A daily weather summary for the control tower.
• B. A Notice to Airmen describing temporary changes or hazards; informs outages and obstructions affecting RAWS.
• C. A long-term flight plan.
• D. A maintenance schedule notice.

Answer: (B)

A NOTAM is a Notice to Airmen used to relay time-sensitive information about changes or hazards that could affect flight safety and can't be published in standard publications quickly enough. For RAWS, a NOTAM serves to inform that there is a temporary change or hazard related to the weather station—such as an outage of sensor data, maintenance that's taking the station offline, or an obstruction near the site that could affect data collection or access. This ensures anyone relying on RAWS weather information knows to expect potential gaps or unreliable data until the issue is resolved, which is critical for safe operational planning.

The other options describe routine or long-range information: a daily weather summary is a normal briefing product, a long-term flight plan is not what a NOTAM communicates, and a maintenance schedule notice is informational but not a NOTAM about temporary changes or hazards affecting active operations.