Coordinating Weather Sensing UAS for Atmospheric Research: Lessons from the SCALES Campaign Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

Collecting routine, high-resolution observations of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) continues to be a persistent challenge to the meteorological community. As weather sensing unpiloted aircraft systems (WxUAS) continue to become more advanced and accessible to more users, they are quickly becoming a cost-effective way of collecting much needed data. Over the past decade, WxUAS have matured considerably due to advancements in sensor integration, availability of components, and regulatory advancements. Additionally, interest from operational agencies and the research community has grown, with discussions turning toward how these observations could augment existing observing networks. Large-scale, coordinated field campaigns featuring WxUAS provide an opportunity to examine how these systems could be used operationally