NOUS41 KWBC 051643
PNSWSH
Service Change
Notice 12-25
National Weather
Service Headquarters Washington DC
1243 PM EDT Thu
Jul 5 2012
To: Subscribers:
-Family of Services
-NOAA Weather Wire Service
-Emergency Managers Weather
Information Network
-NOAAPORT
Other NWS Partners and NWS Employees
From:
Thomas Graziano
Chief, Hydrologic Services Division
National Weather Service
Headquarters
Subject: NWS to
Establish New Methods to Collect Automated Flood
Warning System Information by March
31, 2013
For over 30
years, the NWS has routinely collected raw Automated Local
Evaluation
in Real Time (ALERT) messages. NWS field offices make use
of these ALERT messages to support hydrologic
forecast and warning
operations. The
NWS Automated Flood Warning System (AFWS) currently
collects and processes raw ALERT messages 24x7x365
from over 1700
rainfall and stream sensors in 12 states: Connecticut,
Kentucky,
Maryland, North
Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
South
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These
data
are used routinely to generate NWS river
forecasts and flood
advisories, watches, and warnings.
By March 31,
2013, to ensure ALERT data continue to be available for
forecast and warning operations, the NWS is engaging
data partners and
requesting they provide ALERT messages to the NWS in a
Standard
Hydrologic
Exchange Format (SHEF).
SHEF is a
well-established and well-documented standard for data
exchange. This
request will increase the efficiency and extensibility
of the NWS AFWS and enable better integration
of ALERT data into the
Advanced
Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) web portal. The NWS
will work with data partners to effect a
transition to this new AFWS
operational workflow. After March 31, 2013, NWS will no
longer be able
to ingest raw ALERT messages.
The NWS is
requesting SHEF encoded ALERT messages from these 12 states
be sent to a central NWS server within the
Office of Hydrologic
Development. The ALERT messages will then be encoded
within OHD’s
Hydrometeorological
Automated Data System and disseminated over the
Satellite
Broadcast Network to assure the continued availability and
use by the NWS field offices in the watch,
warning, and advisory
mission.
Additionally, the NWS will update our AHPS Web pages to
include the timely display of data from these AFWS
rain and stream
sites. These AFWS data will be managed, integrated
and displayed by
the NWS in the same manner as data for AHPS
sites.
Detailed
information on SHEF is available at:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/directives/sym/pd01009044curr.pdf
The AHPS Web page
portal is found at:
http://water.weather.gov/ahps/
For questions or
to access more information about the new methods to
collect AFWS data, please contact:
John Bradley
National
Automated Flood Warning System Coordinator
National Weather
Service Headquarters
301-713-0624 x154
john.bradley@noaa.gov
National Service
Change Notices are online at:
http://www.weather.gov/os/notif.htm
$$