| Product Name |
Brief Description |
View PDD |
| [New] or [Modification] (Click link to see details) |
|
(Shift-Click to get file) |
| [New] Enhanced Max Wind-Hail Size Tag for Severe Thunderstorm Warnings CR | The Central Region Severe Thunderstorm Warning (CR SVR) is an alphanumeric product providing short-fused warning in¬formation on hazardous conditions associated with thunderstorms which are expected to pose a threat to life and/or real property. This product is prepared by each National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) for their County Warning Area (CWA) of responsibility. Integrated Warning Team workshops, as well as several societal impacts groups, have indicated a desire by many emergency managers for a concise tag line on the end of the SVR product identifying maximum hail size and wind speeds expected for a given SVR warning. Local area sirens are typically alarmed for tornadoes only. Decoding this tag line will facilitate the capability for local area EMs to trigger sirens for particularly dangerous severe thunderstorm events when conditions exceed Resources to facilitate composition and issuance of the enhanced coding to notify EMs of max wind and hail size in SVR warnings will initially be tested at all 38 Central Region offices.locally developed thresholds for thunderstorm-induced wind and/or hail size | SDD_CR_SVRtag.pdf |
| [New] Experimental LSR Webpage Product Using Google Map Technology | The purpose of this experimental web page is to provide our customers and partners a simple way to display NWS polygon warnings and LSR reports on an interactive map that customers can use to zoom in to their specific location. Right now, most NWS warnings and LSR’s are in text form. Those that are plotted are done so on a static background map. By incorporating Google Map technology the user can easily switch from a terrain map to a road map background and quickly zoom and pan around for their location. | Google_LSR.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Alaska Region NDFD Grids | PDD updated to include new elements:
Hazards, Weather, Temperature, Dew Point, Wind Gust, Sky Cover, Apparent TEmperature, RElative Humidity, Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) and Snow Amount.
Under statute, the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) is charged to collect data on climate, water, and weather, provide forecasts and warnings of severe weather in order to protect life and property, and create and disseminate forecasts and other weather information for the benefit of a wide range of weather sensitive businesses and activities. By capitalizing on rapid advances in science and technology and infusing these advances into its operations, the NWS has taken steps to proactively respond to ever changing and growing demands of its users. The most
recent experimental digital datasets (and associated graphic forecast displays) integrated into NDFD are the following elements for Alaska: Maximum Temperature, Minimum Temperature, 12-hour Probability of Precipitation, Wind Speed, Wind Direction, and Significant Wave Height. | AK_ExperimentalPDD_070809.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Bulleted Winter Storm (WSW) and Non-Precipitation (NPW) Products National Optional | Last year, WFO Reno issued bullet formatted WSW and NPW products with a format similar to severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings. This format is easier for users to read and quickly gather vital watch, warning and advisory information. During the 2009/2010 winter season, the use of the bullet formatted WSW/NPW will be expanded to all of Western and Central Region offices plus selected offices in other regions | Bulleted_WSW_NPW_PDD.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Bulleted Winter Weather and Non-Precipitation Statements | WFO Reno has modified the baseline WSW and NPW formatters to produce a bulleted product with format similar to severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings. This format is easier for users to read and quickly gather vital watch, warning and advisory during hazardous winter and non-precipitation events. | BulletedWSWNPWPDD2.pdf |
| [Modification] Experimental Carolinas Coast/Southeastern Marine Web Portal | Now Covered under Marine Web Portal.The National Weather Service's (NWS)Experimental Carolinas Coast/Southeastern Marine Web Portal provides marine observations, forecasts and short and long-fuse warnings for the coastal waters of North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Georgia and the Atlantic and Gulf coast areas of the Southern Region. The recent development of regional and sub regional coastal ocean observing systems under the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) initiativecreates new opportunities for increased meteorological and oceanographicdata availability. | CarolinaCoast.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Cold Advisory for Newborn Livestock (CANL) Graphic | The experimental CANL graphic will take the current NDFD forecast grids for temperature and wind (wind chill), humidity, and QPF and create a graphic that shows the potential for weather related impacts to newborn livestock. | CANLPDD1.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Google Map Display Service of NWS Weather Data | Utilization of Google Maps across National Weather Service (NWS) web pages has proven very popular for both users and NWS webmasters and Information Technology Officers (ITO). An increasing number of NWS webmasters and ITOs are creating diverse Google Map service applications to display various existing NWS data sets in a more convenient manner for web users. It is impossible to issue individual PDDs for the large number of experimental Google Map applications being developed across Western Region (WR). This umbrella PDD, as defined in NWSI 10-102, allows WR webmaster and ITO creativity in producing experimental Google Map applications, while managing implementation and project tracking and information sharing. Requirements defined in PDD. | WRGoogleMapAppsUmbrellaPDD.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Graphical Area Forecast | The Geographical Area FOrecast (GFA) product is a graphhical representation of the current operational production of aviation area forecasts, which provide an overview of weather conditions which could impact aviation operations. The experimental graphical Airman?s Meteorological Advisory (G-AIRMET) is a BUFR-formatted time-series depiction of aviation hazards occurring with occasional or greater frequency throughout the conterminous U.S. and adjacent coastal waters (NWS, 2005a). The aviation hazards depicted in the experimental G-AIRMET (FAA, 2006) are:
(1) Areas of surface visibility below three (3) statute miles, including the weather causing the visibility restriction.
(2) Areas of cloud ceilings with bases less than 1000 feet above ground level (AGL).
(3) Areas of widespread mountain obscuration where Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) cannot be maintained, including the weather causing the obscuration.
| GraphicalFA.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook (GTWO) | This product is a visual companion to the text TWO. The text TWO is an existing product that describes areas of disturbed weather and their potential for tropical cyclone formation. The gTWO indicates the current location of the weather systems by encircling them and indicating their potential for development by a color code. The gTWO will be issued for the Central Pacific Hurricane basin on an experimental basis for 2009 | EXPGTWO2009.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Grid-based Emergency Communications Center Dispatch Area (ECCDA) Forecast Summaries, or ECCDA Radio | WFO Medford has developed a stand-alone ECCDA formatter based on fire weather grids and available on the Western Region server at 2.5 sq. km resolution. This formatter produces the ECCDA product automatically once all needed grids are available and the ECCDA discussion is produced (as is done currently). No additional forecaster intervention required. ECCDA text resulting from the grid-based formatter is written in a shorter, conversational style. This style will be easier for fire dispatchers to read on agency radio and easier for listeners to understand and retain. The new formatter will be tested at four WFOs serving northern California fire weather user (Medford, Eureka, Sacramento and Reno), from approximately January 1 to October 1 2009. Existing ECCDA products will continue to be available and all other aspects of the ECCDA program, including web availability, remain the same. | Experimental_ECCDA_Radio_PDD.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Gridded Significant Wave Heights from the National Centers | The traditional format for the significant wave height products from the National Centers are graphical depictions of the observed and forecast wind-driven waves for the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans adjacent to the coasts of the Continental United States (US) and extending south over the Caribbean Sea and the west coast of Central America. These graphical products have been prepared for many years in the raster format by the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) and the Tropical Prediction Center’s (TPC) Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB) and transmitted via radiofax and the internet. The production and dissemination of the traditional raster format for the graphical significant wave height products from the OPC and TAFB will continue.
The experimental gridded products will be prepared for the initial wave heights, the 24 hour and 48 hour forecast wave heights in a gridded format. The experimental gridded products will be disseminated by the National Weather Service (NWS) Telecommunications Gateway to the Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs), National Centers, and other users.
| PDDGriddedwavesJun07update.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Instant Messaging (IM) for NWS (NWSChat) | The NWSChat is an Experimental Instant Messaging program which allows NWS operational personnel to share critical warning decision expertise and other types of significant weather information essential to the NWS' mission of saving lives and property. This information is exchanged in real-time with other government entities, the media and emergency response community. NWSChat also provides media and emergency response partners with the ability to communicate significant event reports back to NWS operational personnel, who in turn utilize the information to make effective warning decisions. NWSChat has been developed with Terms of Use and other IT security requirements in place for government use. The system will be evaluated for utility, workload impact, policy and terms of use. | NWSChatSDD_G.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Mountain Recreational Point Forecasts | The Experimental Mountain Recreational Point Forecasts complements the official narrative text recreational forecasts that have long been issued by WFO Burlington, and in similar forms by other WFOs across the country. The web based display leverages the Google Maps interface to allow the user to readily access the specific mountain peak forecasts available. The WFO Burlington Mountain Recreational Forecast program serve a public safety purpose by providing weather forecasts for the highest elevations across the region, which are frequently impacted by severe and life-threatening weather that is not experienced at the lower elevations | BTV_MtnPoint.pdf |
| [New] Experimental Multi-Format Marine Forecast Information Web Page for Coastal WFOs | Advances in computer capabilities and web services technologies, as well as scientific advances in National Weather Service (NWS) software, have afforded an opportunity for NWS to create customer-based marine products and services. Information dissemination via the World Wide Web (WWW) allows customers to obtain higher resolution marine forecast information in a variety of formats on demand. This version of an interactive marine forecast information web page is being made available to (1) allow users to access marine forecast information that is always current with higher resolution than is possible in traditional text marine forecast products which are averaged over time and space; (2) allow marine customers to view marine forecast information retrieved directly from locally prepared, gridded forecast database in a variety of formats, including icons, text, tabular, and graphic; and (3) receive feedback from users regarding potential refinements to interactive information retrieval and display | MarinePtClick.pdf |
weather.gov 
