Western and Central Region Technical Attachments for the last several years are now available on the web. The URL for the Western Region is http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/wrhq/TA.html, and the URL for the Central Region Attachments is: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/techa/tech2.html. Eastern and Southern regions are planning to post their technical attachments as well.
A new microburst product derived from the GOES 8 and GOES 9 sounders can now be accessed on the web. The product estimates maximum possible wind gusts from convective storms. Derived from sounder retrievals, the product displays WINDEX (Wind Index - McCann 1994), color codes the result for the retrieval area (about 50 km.x 50 km.), and superimposes the information on a visible or infrared image. The data is available approximately 1.5 hours after retrieval for both GOES 8 and 9 at: http://orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov:80/ora/fpdt1/mb.html. The interpretation of the peak wind gust color scale is as follows:
| Khaki | < 30 knots |
| Green | >= 30 knots |
| Yellow | >= 40 knots |
| Orange | >= 50 knots |
| Red | >= 60 knots |
High values of WINDEX do not necessarily mean that convection is likely as low level convection is sometimes lacking, resulting in heat and humidity, but not much else.
A meteorologically revealing "pic-of-the-day" with accompanying discussions focusing on mesoscale phenomena such as mesoscale convective vortices is available on the WWW at:
Due to the May 30, 1997 NOAA-12 High Resolution Infrared Sounder (HIRS) anomaly, there has been a continued degradation in product quality. As a result, engineers will begin the activation of the sounding/radiance capability of NOAA-11. This will put in place a back-up sounding/radiance capability should there be any unexpected problems with the NOAA-14 satellite. The activation of NOAA-11 sounding/radiance capability will take 6 weeks. NOAA 12 will remain operational during this period, but HIRS data should be used with extreme caution. NOAA 11 will provide three readouts per day stating July 14, 1997.
An experimental ensemble-based MOS forecast message is now available on a daily basis on the Internet. The ensemble MOS forecasts are based on the 12 runs of the MRF model included in the 0000 UTC ensemble suite each day. The model forecasts from each of the ensemble runs is used as input to the operational MOS prediction equations. MOS forecasts are produced for the night time minimum/ daytime maximum temperatures and the probability of precipitation (PoP). This product is not operational, but experimental in nature and has yet to be objectively evaluated.
For each element and projection, the ensemble MOS forecast message contains the operational forecast (OPRN), a mean forecast computed by averaging the 12 ensemble MOS forecasts together (MEAN), the standard deviation of the forecasts (STDV), and the most extreme MOS forecasts included in the set of 12 (HI/LO). Forecasts of the minimum and maximum temperature (MN/MX), 12-hr PoP (POP12) and 24-hr PoP (POP24) are provided for 26 U.S. cities in this experimental bulletin. The forecast projections extend out 192 hours. As a reference, the last line of the message indicates the normal value (average temperature or precipitation relative frequency) valid for the 12-h periods ending 108 and 120 hours after 0000 UTC.
Currently, the experimental message is available on the Office of Systems Operations (OSO) Server each day at approximately 1200 UTC. To access the OSO server, FTP anonymously to the IP address 140.90.6.103 (if prompted for a user ID, enter anonymous and when prompted for a password, type your e-mail address). If you've accessed the site through a dedicated FTP program rather than by using the above link, you will need to change directory pages with the command cd tdl/mos/mrfens.
The message (file name enmes.exp) will be contained in a dated subdirectory yyymmddcc(year, month, day, cycle). In the near future, the ensemble message will be included in the experimental products section of the TDL Homepage (URL: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/tdl).
Now that all Storm Prediction Center (SPC) functions have been transferred to Norman, Oklahoma, the SPC will expand its coordination efforts to all NWS warning offices. Effective immediately, SPC Lead Forecasters will make every attempt to place coordination calls to NWS Forecast Offices whose county warning areas may be covered by a severe weather watch later in the day. These calls will be made early in the SPC forecast process providing an opportunity for SPC Lead Forecasters to share their reasoning with the field regarding the evolution of severe weather later in the day.
NOAA is responsible for the collection, management, and stewardship of a rapidly increasing amount of data and information. This data and information includes holdings of climatological, geophysical, oceanographic, hydrographic, and cartographic records. Much of this data is held in NOAA's National Data Centers including the National Climate Data Center, the National Geophysical Data Center, and the National Oceanographic Data Center
A NOAA-wide effort, the ESDIM program, focuses on making archived data available to the broadest possible audience in easily usable formats. NOAAServer, an ESDIM supported project provides Web access to distributed NOAA data and information through a single web site at:
The COMET case study library is now available to the entire meteorological community through the web. Each COMET case study is a collection of meteorological data sets covering a significant meteorological event. The case studies include WSR 88D radar, GOES-8/9 satellite data, NCEP model data, upper air, surface and profiler data. Direct access to the case studies is available at:
