| ... ... |
1. GENERAL
2. EXISTING WSR-88D PRODUCT DISSEMINATION SYSTEM
3. WSR-88D COLLECTION SITES
4. CONTRACTOR'S INTERFACE WITH THE WSR-88DS
5. PRODUCTS COLLECTED
5.1. OPERATIONAL MODES
5.2. PRODUCTS SET
5.3. BASE DATA
5.4. CONTRACTORS RIGHTS TO THE PRODUCTS
6. SYSTEM PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS
TABLE 1. WSR-88D SITES
TABLE 2. PRODUCT SET - PRECIPITATION MODE
TABLE 3. PRODUCT SET - CLEAR AIR MODE
The central collection of Doppler weather surveillance radar (WSR-88D) products described in this section shall be provided at the option of the Government. Bidders may bid on only the NWWS, only the radar products collection option or both.
Except as otherwise stated, all requirements in terms of performance, documentation, testing, installation, maintenance, etc., as described elsewhere in this document, shall apply. The collection of WSR-88D products shall in no way in interfere with or degrade the performance of the WSR-88D network. In addition if one contractor receives both the NWWS and central collection contracts, the collection of WSR-88D products shall in no way interfere with or degrade the performance of the NWWS telecommunications network supplied by the contractor.
The central collection of WSR-88D products is intended to support the
NWS' internal operations and to allow for the real-time dissemination of
WSR-88D products to external users.
2. EXISTING WSR-88D PRODUCT DISSEMINATION SYSTEM
Currently the NWS does not centrally collect WSR-88D products. The real-time dissemination WSR-88D products to external users is accomplished through the Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) Information Dissemination Service or NIDS. The NIDS operates through four private sector companies or providers that access the WSR-88Ds and disseminate a prescribed set of products, unaltered in content, to external users. The providers are also producing value-added products based entirely or partly on the unaltered products and making these available to the users.
The providers are required to access all commissioned operational WSR-88Ds in all states and Puerto Rico. The WSR-88D on Guam is an optional NIDS site that is available to the providers but the providers are not required to access it.
It is intended that the dissemination of radar products from a central
facility will replace NIDS.
3. WSR-88D COLLECTION SITES
The option for the central collection of WSR-88D products requires that the contractor access an identical set of products from 153 WSR-88Ds. These WSR-88Ds operate continously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The radar sites include NWS, Department of Defense (DOD) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar sites. These sites are the same sites accessed by the NIDS providers except that the contractor will not be required to access the Guam WSR-88D. Table 1 lists these radars along with the site identifier of the radar site and the agency that operates the radar. Note that the DOD and FAA WSR-88Ds are not associated with any NWS WFO or RFC facility. The products collected from all radars will be made available to the NWS, DOD and FAA at a central facility.
Figure C.11-1 illustrates the WSR-88D collection functional requirement.
4. CONTRACTOR'S INTERFACE WITH THE WSR-88DS
The contractor will connect to the WSR-88Ds through a class 4 port on each radar. The class 4 ports are located on the radar products generator (RPG). They are the same class of port being used by the NIDS providers. The government will supply the ports and will be responsible for getting the products to the ports. It will be the responsibility of the contractor to get the products from the port to the central facility. The output of the ports will initially be at a data rate of 14.4 kbps. Note, however, that the network must be sized for a future updgrade to 33.6 Kbps transmit at each site, and 56 Kbps receive at the collection site.
The NWS RPGs are generally located at the associated NWS office but at a few sites the RPG is located at the radar site. The DOD and FAA RPGs are generally located at the radar sites.
The WSR-88D Operational Support Facility (OSF) will test and certify the contractor's communications interface before the interface is connected to any operational WSR-88D. This is to insure that the communications interface does not degrade the operation of the WSR-88D. The contractor will supply the OSF with all interface hardware, software and documentation.
The necessary interface is described in the Interface Control Document RPG/A-PUP. It can be found in Appendix
.... (TBD) .....
5. PRODUCTS COLLECTED
The contractor will be required to access an identical set of products
from each WSR-88Ds and deliver them to the NWS at a central facility. Products
included in this set are dependent on the operational mode of the WSR-88D.
This products set is defined by the NWS and is the same for every radar.
The products included in the products set are identified in Table 2 and
3.
5.1. OPERATIONAL MODES
Currently the WSR-88D has two operational modes, precipitation mode and clear air mode. The products that are produced are dependent on the mode in use. There are two volume coverage patterns (VCPs) available in each mode. Each VCP contains 5 to 14 elevation scans. A VCP scan requires 5 to 10 minutes to complete depending on which VCP is in use. The table below describes the VCPs, elevation angles, and time required.
| OPERATIONAL MODE AND VCP | ||||
| PRECIPITATION MODE | CLEAR AIR MODE | |||
| VCP11 | VCP21 | VCP31 | VCP32 | |
| Number of Elevation Angles | 14 | 9 | 5 | 5 |
| Time to Complete the VCP | 5 min. | 6 min. | 10 min. | 10 min. |
Each product is produced once each VCP scan. The contractor shall access
every designated product from every volume scan and make them available
to the NWS at a central facility.
5.2. PRODUCTS SET
The contractor will be required to access an identical prescribed set of WSR-88D products from every radar site and make all of these products available to the NWS at a central facility. The products set contains both base products and volume products. Base products require only one complete rotation of the radar antenna at one elevation angle to produce. The RPG begins to produce these products as soon as the antenna rotation is complete. Volume products require completion of the entire volume scan to produce. The RPG does not start to produce them until the volume scan is finished.
The products set includes 16 products when the radar is operating in precipitation mode and 7 products in the clear air mode. Tables 2 and 3 identify these products in precipitation and clear air modes. The WSR-88Ds operate in precipitation mode
..... TBD ..... percent of the time and in Clear air mode ..... TBD
..... percent of the time.
5.3. BASE DATA
Base data are the digital fields of reflectivity, radial velocity and
spectrum width that are used to generate the products. The contractor will
not be required to collect or process base data.
5.4. CONTRACTORS RIGHTS TO THE PRODUCTS
The contractor will have cost-free non-exclusive rights to all products and may use them in anyway it chooses. These rights in no way restrict the Government's right to use or distribute any WSR-88D products or data.
6. SYSTEM PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS
The contractor will meet all requirements in terms of performance, documentation, testing, installation, maintenance, etc., as described elsewhere in this document.
The contractor will be required to deliver to the central site all available products from all WSR-88Ds. Delivery is required within 5 minutes after the products are generated by the RPG. The availability of the products on a yearly basis at the central facility must equal or exceed 0.995. The NWS makes every effort to maintain full time operation of the WSR-88Ds but from time to time maintenance is required. The NWS, therefore, cannot guarantee continuous operation. Periods when the WSR-88D is out of service will not be included when the availability is determined.
The contractor will be required to establish a procedure to monitor
the delivery of products to the central facility and to submit a monthly
report to the NWS. The monthly report will include a list of any products
from any WSR-88D sites not delivered to the central facility. The time,
date and duration of the missing products will also be included.
TABLE 1. WSR-88D SITES
| WSR-88D SITE AND IDENTIFIER | OPERATING AGENCY |
| BMX - Birmingham, AL
MXX - East Alabama (Carrville) EOX - Fort Rucker, AL MOB - Mobile, AL HTX - Northeastern Alabama |
NWS
DOD DOD NWS NWS |
| AHG - Anchorage, AK
ABC - Bethel, AK APD - Fairbanks, AK AKC - King Salmon, AK AIH - Middleton Island, AK AEC - Nome, AK (Annette) ACG - Sitka, AK (Juneau) |
FAA
FAA FAA FAA FAA FAA FAA |
| FSX - Flagstaff, AZ
IWA - Phoenix, AZ EMX - Tucson, AZ (Empire Mountain) YUX - Yuma, AZ |
NWS
NWS NWS NWS |
| LZK - Little Rock, AR
SRX - Western Arkansas |
NWS
NWS |
| BBX - Beale Air Force Base, CA
EYX - Edwards Air Force Base, CA BHX - Eureka, CA VTX - Los Angeles, CA DAX - Sacramento, CA NKX - San Diego, CA MUX - San Francisco Bay Area, CA HNX - San Joaquin Valley, CA (Hanford) SOX - Santa Ana Mountains, CA VBX - Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA |
DOD
DOD NWS NWS NWS NWS NWS NWS NWS DOD |
| FTG - Denver/Boulder, CO
GJX - Grand Junction, CO PUX - Pueblo, CO |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| DOX - Dover Air Force Base, DE | DOD |
| JAX - Jacksonville, FL
BYX - Key West, FL MLB - Melbourne, FL AMX - Miami, FL EVX - Northwest Florida (Eglin Air Force Base) TLH - Tallahassee, FL TBW - Tampa Bay Area, FL |
NWS
NWS NWS NWS DOD NWS NWS |
TABLE 1. WSR-88D SITES
| WSR-88D SITE AND IDENTIFIER | OPERATING AGENCY |
| FFC - Atlanta, GA
VAX - Moody Air Force Base, GA JGX - Robins Air Force Base, GA |
NWS
DOD DOD |
| HKM - Kohala, HI
HMO - Molokai, HI HKI - South Kauai, HI HWA - South Shore Hawaii, HI |
FAA
FAA FAA FAA |
| CBX - Boise, ID
SFX - Pocatello/Idaho Falls, ID |
NWS
NWS |
| ILX - Central Illinois (Lincoln)
LOT - Chicago, IL |
NWS
NWS |
| IND - Indianapolis, IN
IWX - Northern Indiana |
NWS
NWS |
| DMX - Des Moines, IA
DVN - Quad Cities, IA (Davenport) |
NWS
NWS |
| DDC - Dodge City, KS
GLD - Goodland, KS TWX - Topeka, KS ICT - Wichita, KS |
NWS
NWS NWS NWS |
| HPX - Fort Campbell, KY
JKL - Jackson, KY LVX - Louisville, KY PAH - Paducah, KY |
DOD
NWS NWS NWS |
| POE - Fort Polk, LA
LCH - Lake Charles, LA LIX - New Orleans/Baton Rouge, LA (Slidell) SHV - Shreveport, LA |
DOD
NWS NWS NWS |
| CBW - Caribou, ME (Houlton/Hodgdon)
GYX - Portland, ME (Gray) |
NWS
NWS |
| BOX - Boston, MA (Taunton) | NWS |
| DTX - Detroit, MI
GRR - Grand Rapids/Muskegon, MI MQT - Marquette, MI APX - North Central Lower Michigan (Gaylord) |
NWS
NWS NWS NWS |
| DLH - Duluth, MN
MPX - Minneapolis, MN |
NWS
NWS |
TABLE 1. WSR-88D SITES
| WSR-88D SITE AND IDENTIFIER | OPERATING AGENCY |
| GWX - Columbus Air Force Base, MS
JAN - Jackson, MS |
DOD
NWS |
| EAX - Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, MO
SGF - Springfield, MO LSX - St. Louis, MO |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| BLX - Billings, MT
GGW - Glasgow, MT TFX - Great Falls, MT MSX - Missoula, MT |
NWS
NWS NWS NWS |
| UEX - Hastings, NE
LNX - North Platte, NE OAX - Omaha, NE |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| LRX - Elko, NV
ESX - Las Vegas, NV RGX - Reno, NV |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| ABX - Albuquerque, NM
FDX - Cannon Air Force Base, NM HDX - Holloman Air Force Base, NM |
NWS
DOD DOD |
| ENX - Albany, NY
BGM - Binghamton, NY BUF - Buffalo, NY TYX - Griffiss Air Force Base, NY OKX - New York, NY (Brookhaven) |
NWS
NWS NWS DOD NWS |
| MHX - Morehead City, NC
RAX - Raleigh/Durham, NC LTX - Wilmington, NC |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| BIS - Bismarck, ND
MVX - Eastern North Dakota (Grand Forks) MBX - Minot Air Force Base, ND |
NWS
NWS DOD |
| ILN - Cincinnati/Dayton, OH (Wilmington)
CLE - Cleveland, OH |
NWS
NWS |
| FDR - Frederick, OK
TLX - Oklahoma City, OK (Norman) INX - Tulsa, OK VNX - Vance Air Force Base, OK |
DOD
NWS NWS DOD |
TABLE 1. WSR-88D SITES
| WSR-88D SITE AND IDENTIFIER | OPERATING AGENCY |
| MAX - Medford, OR
PDT - Pendleton, OR RTX - Portland, OR |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| CCX - Central Pennsylvania (State College)
DIX - Philadelphia, PA PBZ - Pittsburgh, PA |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| JUA - San Juan, PR (Eastern Puerto Rico) | FAA |
| CLX - Charleston, SC
CAE - Columbia, SC GSP - Greer, SC |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| ABR - Aberdeen, SD
UDX - Rapid City, SD FSD - Sioux Falls, SD |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| MRX - Knoxville/Tri Cities, TN (Morristown)
NQA - Memphis, TN OHX - Nashville, TN |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| AMA - Amarillo, TX
EWX - Austin/San Antonio, TX BRO - Brownsville, TX GRK - Central Texas (Granger) CRP - Corpus Christi, TX FWS - Dallas/Fort Worth, TX DYX - Dyess Air Force Base, TX EPZ - El Paso, TX HGX - Houston/Galveston, TX DFX - Laughlin Air Force Base, TX LBB - Lubbock, TX MAF - Midland/Odessa, TX SJT - San Angelo, TX |
NWS
NWS NWS DOD NWS NWS DOD NWS NWS DOD NWS NWS NWS |
| ICX - Cedar City, UT
MTX - Salt Lake City, UT |
NWS
NWS |
| CXX - Burlington, VT | NWS |
| LWX - Baltimore, MD/Washington, DC (Sterling, VA)
AKQ - Norfolk/Richmond, VA (Wakefield) FCX - Roanoke, VA |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| ATX - Seattle/Tacoma, WA
OTX - Spokane, WA |
NWS
NWS |
TABLE 1. WSR-88D SITES
| WSR-88D SITE AND IDENTIFIER | OPERATING AGENCY |
| RLX - Charleston, WV | NWS |
| GRB - Green Bay, WI
ARX - La Crosse, WI MKX - Milwaukee, WI |
NWS
NWS NWS |
| CYS - Cheyenne, WY
RIW - Riverton, WY |
NWS
NWS |
TABLE 2. PRODUCT SET - PRECIPITATION MODE
| WSR-88D PRODUCT | PRODUCT NO./ID. | AVERAGE PRODUCT SIZE | |
| Base Reflectivity - 124 nmi Range
(Lowest 4 Elevation Angles) |
19/R | 106,000 bytes | |
| Base Reflectivity - 248 nmi Range
(Lowest Elevation Angle) |
20/R | 22,880 bytes | |
| Composite Reflectivity - 16 Levels | 38/CR | 11,550 bytes | |
| Layer Composite Reflectivity Maximum
Low Level |
65/LRM | 2,965 bytes | |
| Layer Composite Reflectivity Maximum
Middle Level |
66/LRM | 2,672 bytes | |
| Layer Composite Reflectivity Maximum
High Level |
90/LRM | 3,684 bytes | |
| Echo Tops | 41/ET | 3,014 bytes | |
| Vertical Integrated Liquid | 57/VIL | 1,668 bytes | |
| Base Radial Velocity
(Lowest 4 Elevation Angles) |
27/V | 89,208 bytes | |
| Storm Relative Mean Radial Velocity
(Lowest 2 Elevation Angles) |
56/SRM | 33,048 bytes | |
| Velocity Azimuth Display (VAD) Winds
(time vs. Height) |
48/VWP | 3,822 bytes | |
| Surface Rainfall Accumulation
One Hour Running Total |
78/OHP | 11,532 bytes | |
| Surface Rainfall Accumulation
Three Running Total |
79/THP | 11,532 bytes | |
| Surface Rainfall Accumulation
Storm Total |
80/STP | 11,532 bytes | |
| Hourly Digital Rainfall Array | 81/DPA | 11,532 bytes | |
| Free Text Message | 75/FTA | Variable | |
TABLE 3. PRODUCT SET - CLEAR AIR MODE
| WSR-88D PRODUCT | PRODUCT No./ID. | AVERAGE PRODUCT SIZE | |
| Base Reflectivity - 124 nmi Range
(Lowest 4 Elevation Angles) |
19/R | 106,000 bytes | |
| Base Reflectivity - 248 nmi Range
(Lowest Elevation Angle) |
20/R | 22,880 bytes | |
| Composite Reflectivity - 8 Levels | 36/CR | 9,310 bytes | |
| Composite Reflectivity - 16 Levels | 38/CR | 11,550 bytes | |
| Base Radial Velocity
(Lowest 4 Elevation Angles) |
27/V | 89,208 bytes | |
| Velocity Azimuth Display (VAD) Winds
(time vs. Height) |
48/VWP | 3,822 bytes | |
| Free Text Message | 75/FTM | Variable | |