INACCURATE WX RPTED ON ATIS.

Narrative

I WAS CAPT ON AN ACR FLT ARRIVING IN ATL ON AUG/THU/94 AT OX15 AM. THE ARR ATIS 'BRAVO' RPTED '15000 SCATTERED; 25000 SCATTERED; 3 MI FOG.' I; THEREFORE; EXPECTED WX CONDITIONS SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO FLY A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 9R. AS WE DSNDED TO 3500 FT MSL; I COULD SEE THAT THERE WAS A BROKEN TO OVCST LAYER OF CLOUDS WELL BELOW ME. WE MADE OUR PREPARATIONS TO FLY AN ILS APCH TO RWY 9R. WHEN WE WERE SWITCHED OVER TO ATL TWR ON 119.1; I ASKED WHAT THE CEILING WAS AND THEY RPTED THAT THERE WAS SOME FOG AND HAZE; BUT NO CEILING. I REPLIED THAT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. AFTER I LANDED; I RPTED TO THE TWR THAT THERE WAS A 600 FT BROKEN TO OVCST CEILING AT ATL AND THE TOPS WERE 2100 FT MSL. I WAS RATHER DISTRESSED THAT THE CEILING WAS QUITE OBVIOUS AND THAT THE ATIS WAS GROSSLY IN ERROR. THIS IS AN UNSAFE SIT! AN ACFT THAT WAS AHEAD OF US HAD TO EXECUTE A MISSED APCH BECAUSE HE DID NOT HAVE A VALID GS INDICATION AND COULD NOT DSND VISUALLY TO THE RWY AND LAND. THE VISIBILITY RPTED BY ATIS AND THE TWR WAS VERY ACCURATE; HOWEVER; THEY BOTH FAILED TO DISCERN THAT THERE WAS A 600 FT CEILING. AFTER I GOT TO THE GATE; I CALLED THE TWR TO ASK WHY THE CEILING WAS NOT ON THE ATIS AND THEY SAID THAT THE NATIONAL WX SVC HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR UPDATING THE ATIS AND THAT THEY WOULD BE NOTIFIED. AS THE NATIONAL WX SVC STATION IS NOT AT OR ON THE ATL ARPT; IT IS LUDICROUS FOR THEM TO BE RPTING ARPT WX. THE NATIONAL WX SVC NEVER DID RPT THE CEILING BECAUSE WHEN THEY TOOK THEIR NEXT OBSERVATION; THEY HAD AN OPENING IN THE OVCST AND RPTED AT 1100 FT SCATTERED LAYER. THIS COULDN'T' HAVE BEEN FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH! IF PLT RPTS AND TWR NOTIFICATION CANNOT INDUCE AN ACCURATE WX OBSERVATION; THEN THAT FUNCTION SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE NATIONAL WX SVC AND GIVEN TO THE TWR. MANY COMMERCIAL ARPTS HAVE TWR TRAINED WX OBSERVERS AND THAT IS WHERE THE WX IS WHICH NEEDS TO BE RPTED! THIS NEEDS TO BE STANDARD THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES! CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: PROCS SPECIALIST STATED TWR WOULD ASK FOR A SPECIAL WX OBSERVATION; AND IF IT DID NOT CHANGE FROM THE PREVIOUS WX SEQUENCE; THEY WOULD NOT CHANGE THE RPTED WX ON THE ATIS. ASKED ABOUT PUTTING THE PLT RPTED WX ON THE ATIS; THE SPECIALIST SAID NO UNLESS THE WX SEQUENCE HAD IT IN REMARKS.