During the current hurricane season, the GFDL model will be run on an as-needed basis. The National Centers for Environmental prediction have begun posting the model output on the following site: ftp.ncep.noaa.gov.
The data is posted in the following sub-directories /pub/data1/gfdl
When tropical activity warrants, the model will run 4 times daily at 00z, 06z, 12z and 18z.
The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) has established a new web site to retrieve GOES Sounder products. Point to:
This page also offers the forecaster useful imagery including satellite derived CAPE Indices, Lifted Indices and Total Precipitable Water. Make sure to read the excellent case study of the July 13th, 1997, South Dakota hailstorm that produced softball sized hail north of Sioux Falls.
Schedules for the fall GOES 8 and GOES 10 eclipse data outages are available on the Satellite Services Division Home Page: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/. You can find the schedules under the section labeled "SPECIAL BULLETINS ABOUT GOES." Single chord operations, keep out zone outages and other maneuvers are posted in this area as well.
By the way, GOES 10 arrived on station at 135 West at 1047Z August 21, 1998.
Scientists at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies have validated GOES 8 and 10 soundings co-located with radiosonde soundings for the period July 24 to August 12, 1998. Improvements of the GOES 8 and 10 retrievals over the Eta model first guess show up in the root mean square (RMS) error. In the GOES 10 soundings the RMS improves from 4.17mm for the co-located radiosondes to 3.46mm. The GOES 8 improvement is somewhat less, improving from an RMS or 4.00 mm to 3.75 mm, possibly because the GOES 8 moisture is assimilated into the Eta.
The NRC report titled "Toward a New National Weather Service: Future of the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Network" has been posted on the web in its entirety at:
Click on Reading Room, then Earth Sciences, then Atmospheric Sciences.
Over 2 dozen ASOS sites were commissioned in July alone. Keep up to date on the commissionings by visiting our NWS Modernization page off the main IM home page.
SPC forecasters have begun issuing experimental convective outlooks daily 11 UTC. The products will likely evolve with suggestions form the operational community. The outlooks aim to more explicitly convey forecast information on severe weather coverage and intensity.
You can find a full explanation of the new convective outlook test on the web at:
You can link to the experimental graphics either from that page or directly from the SPC Forecasts page.
Dr. D. James Baker, NOAA Administrator has just announced two new personnel assignments.
Effective August 16, 1998, John Jones became Deputy Assistant Administrator for the NWS. Prior to assuming this position, John served as Deputy Regional Director of the NWS Eastern Region headquarters. Since he joined the NWS in 1973, his other NWS posts included Deputy Meteorologist in Charge of a New Jersey NWS Forecast Office and a journeyman forecaster at several NWS offices including the NWS Office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Susan F. Zevin joined NESDIS on July 27, 1998, as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information Services. She will oversee the NOAA National Data Centers and the Offices of Environmental Information Services and Information Technology Management. In addition, Susan will continue to work across NOAA line offices planning for and evaluating requirements for NOAA observing systems.
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