David Ruth Meteorological Development Laboratory National Weather Service

David Ruth Meteorological Development Laboratory National Weather Service, NOAA System-of-Systems Workshop October 2009

The NWS Strategic Plan - 1999 Deliver a credible, timely, and relevant suite of seamless weather, water, and climate products and services which exploit technology to the fullest to meet customer and partner needs. • Post NWS products and data on the Internet in graphic-oriented format (2002) • Prepare and disseminate NWS forecast products in digital form (2003) NDFD in System-of-Systems 2

The National Academies - 2003 NDFD in System-of-Systems 3

National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) • Contains a seamless mosaic of NWS digital forecasts • Is available to all users and partners – public and private • Allows users and partners to create wide range of text, graphic, and image products NDFD in System-of-Systems 4

How is NDFD Produced? National Centers Model Guidance – Detailed – Interactive – Collaborative Grids Field Offices Local Digital Forecast Database Collaborate National Centers Data and Science Focus NWS Automated Products LY. LIKEOVE B. RAIN LY A AY. . TODOW LIKE. SNOWBY SN 0 FEET ATION N 1 250 CUMULERNOOOVE AC E AFT ES AB DER LAT 2 INCH. COL TO 40. TO 0 FEETHS 35 D 5 250 H HIG ST WINTING WITUTHEAH SHIF SO 10 MP Y ARL TO THE STE N. TO UTHWE RNOO SO IS AFTEOF 0%. 7 N H E T ANC ATIO CH ECIPIT PR Digital Text Graphic NDFD in System-of-Systems User-Generated Products National Digital Forecast Database Voice 5

Current NDFD Elements Max. T, Min. T Weather, Wind Gusts Sky, Po. P 12, QPF, Snow Temp, Dew, App. T, RH NDFD in System-of-Systems Wave Height, Tropical Winds Hazards, Convection, Climate Outlooks 6

Role of NDFD in Decision Support Services Tier 5 Tier 4 Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 General Access to NWS Information Sector-Specific Decision Support Information Organization. Specific Decision Support Information Group Decision Assistance Individual Decision Assistance NDFD Standard NWS information products and services for a broad set of needs WHAT NWS Provides in Each Tier Standard NWS information products and services for a group of users with common interests NDFD in System-of-Systems Standard NWS information products and services for a specific organization (usually a government agency) NWS expert(s) who interact directly with a group of decision makers and/or information providers in a specific decision context NWS expert(s) who interact directly with and support an individual decision maker in a specific decision context 7

NDFD in Next. Gen Era Next. Gen • “All support facilities will have a common forecast and communications toolset of hardware and software, including the NWS National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD). The NDFD is a step toward the Next. Gen 4 D Weather Cube. ” • “We currently have a National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) and a National Digital Guidance Database (NDGD), the foundation and building blocks for moving forward into the Next. Gen era. ” excerpted from NWS response to FAA’s CWSU Requirements Document May 9, 2008 NDFD in System-of-Systems 8

New NWS Flagship Service “The NDFD is now our flagship service, so we need to ensure it provides the most accurate and current information possible. “ Mary M. Glackin, Acting Director, National Weather Service NWS Focus - July 5, 2007 NDFD in System-of-Systems 9

The Limited Reach of Weather. gov Source: www. alexa. com NDFD in System-of-Systems 10

HAMweather The Unlimited Reach of NDFD GRIBv 2 • 100, 000 files/day • ~200 users Univ of Texas Astronomy Dow Home Products Weather Bug Shareware SOAP/XML 2, 000 requests/day ~10, 000 users Chumby Quick. Cast Real Estate Data Civil Aviation Energy Production PASDA Map Services Web Icons Federal Agencies Hurricane Alley Weather Central TV Custom Weather The Weather Network FORECA Fire Danger Agricultural Weather Accu. Weather Armed Forces ESRI GIS State Government now. COAST Hydro One NDFD in System-of-Systems Google Maps Weather Underground University Research 11

IT Infrastructure and Major System Interfaces NDFD Central Server System (CSS) consists of three dualserver clusters. • 2 redundant clusters at AWIPS Network Control Facility (ANCF) • 1 cluster at AWIPS Backup Network Control Facility (BNCF) Two sources of data to NDFD CSS • WFOs – IFPS Service Backup net. CDF files via Svc. Bu rsync servers • NCEP – GRIB 2 from TPC, SPC, CPC, and EMC; text from HPC Three sinks of data from NDFD CSS • Telecommunications Operations Center (TOC) – GRIB 2 , XML • NWS Web Farm – GRIB 2 • River Forecast Centers (pulled via AWIPS WAN) – GRIB 2 NDFD in System-of-Systems 12

NDFD Data Flow AWIPS NCF WFO (120+) NCEP Primary NDFD cluster ap 1 -emix db 2 -emix ap 2 -emix LAN AWIPS WAN IFPS Service Backup Servers RFC (13) Secondary NDFD cluster NWS Web Farm NAS Internet NWS TOC Partners & Customers NDFD in System-of-Systems 13

NDFD Standards and Format Grid forecasts • net. CDF (from WFOs) • GRIB 2 via HTTP and FTP Point forecasts • • • Digital Weather Markup Language (DWML) via SOAP Web Feature Service employing OGC standards Tabular XML Products (TPEX) NDFD in System-of-Systems 14

NDFD Development • Spatial resolution that better resolves complex terrain – 2. 5 km 4 th quarter FY 10 • • • Hourly temporal resolution (#1 customer request) More frequent than hourly updates Additional forecast elements – – Fire weather (3 rd quarter FY 10) Probabilistic Digital forecasts from NCEP service centers 4 D grids capable of supporting Next Generation Air Transportation System NDFD in System-of-Systems 15