Headlines Archive 2005
9 Dec 05
2005 OAR Employee of the Year
for Public Service: Dr. Bill Moninger
GSD's Bill Moninger has been named 2005 OAR Employee of the Year
for Public Service for his work to collect and effectively utilize
weather data collected by commercial aircraft.
17 Nov 05
GSD's FX-Net Team Receives Fire
Weather Honor Award
The FX-Net team of GSD received an Honor Award from the Bureau of Land
Management and U.S. Forest Service's Predictive Services Program for their
work supporting firefighting and control workers.
2 Nov 05
ESRL/GSD's Graphical Hazards
Generator Supports NWS Forecasters
As of 1 Nov, NWS forecasters are using the GSD-developed Graphical
Hazards Generator to issue weather warnings and advisories.
GPS-Meteorology Observations
Increase by 40% in Texas
On Nov 1, the ESRL/GSD GPS Meteorology project increased the number of
sites in Texas from 28 to 45; an increase of almost 40%.
14 Oct 05
NASA Award for ESRL/GSD's TAMDAR
Team
GSD's TAMDAR team received an award for "outstanding contributions to
aviation weather safety research and development" at the recent NASA Aviation
Weather Accident Prevention Project Review.
12 Sep 05
FX-Net Used to Support Clean-up
Efforts in the Aftermath of Katrina
FSL's FX-Net, as the display component of NWS' All-hazards Meteorological
Response System, has helped support post-Katrina rescue and evacuation
operations.
9 Sep 05
FSL Data Supports NOAA Weather
Forecasting and Hurricane Research
As the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over south Florida and later made
landfall near New Orleans, continuous water vapor measurements were produced
by FSL using data observed by U.S. Coast Guard Differential GPS sites at
Virginia Key and English Turn.
NOAA Provides Buoy Observations
in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina forced the closure of NOAA's National Data Buoy
Center, FSL stepped up to make its MADIS surface data viewer a backup source
of C-MAN and buoy data.
6 Sep 05
FSL Supporting Post-Hurricane
Recovery
FSL's GPS-Met project is providing high-accuracy location information
to the Corps of Engineers and NASA to aid the Hurricane Katrina relief
effort.
29 Jun 05
Operational Implementation of the
13-km RUC Model at NCEP
The 13-km version of NOAA's Rapid Update Cycle (RUC13) model became
operational at 1200 UTC Tuesday, June 28, 2005, at the National Centers for
Environmental Prediction.
GPS-Met Project's Water Vapor Data
Now Used by NWS Weather Models
For the first time, GPS integrated precipitable water vapor data are
being used by a National Weather Service operational weather model running
at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction.
6 Jun 05
Successful Evaluation of NOAA's
Volcanic Ash Coordination Tool
On May 25, FSL facilitated a test of the Vocanic Ash Coordination Tool
in Alaska. Participating agencies were the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit
(AAWU), Alaska Volcano Observatory (supported by the U.S. Geological Survey
and State of Alaska), and the Anchorage Center Weather Service Unit.
27 May 05
NOAA's Science on a Sphere™
Unveiled at The National Maritime Center
NOAA and Nauticus officials unveiled NOAA's Science on a
Sphere™ at The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia, on
June 2, 2005.
NOAA Upper-Air Data
Highlighted on "CSI: Miami" TV Episode
A Skew-T data plot from FSL's interactive sounding display
provided a crucial clue in the final season episode of the popular TV
show "CSI: Miami."
24 May 05
Dr. John Brown of NOAA honored with
NASA Group Achievement Award
FSL's John Brown served on a board to investigate the crash of Helios, a
solar-powered "flying wing" Remotely Piloted Aircraft that suffered structural
failure during a long-duration test flight in June, 2003. The team is being
honored at a ceremony on June 10, 2005, at the Langley Research Center.
23 May 05
OAR and NESDIS collaborate to improve
real-time satellite moisture observations
FSL is cooperating with the NESDIS Office of Research and Applications to
use GPS water vapor measurements to help assess and improve the GOES moisture
retrieval process.
11 May 05
RSA development team receives the
NOAA Technology Transfer Award
A nine-member team from FSL has been selected as the recipient of the
2005 NOAA Technology Transfer Award for its work on the design, development,
integration, testing, and implementation of the RSA (Range Standardization
and Automation) Weather System, now running at the Eastern and Western
Ranges.
9 May 05
Research on GPS and NOAA's Profiler
Network Presented at AIR-MASS 2005
FSL scientists presented talks on the NOAA Profiler Network and the
use of GPS water vapor observations at the first bi-annual Air Capital
Mid-America Storm Symposium.
6 May 05
FSL staff selected for 2005 NOAA
Administrator's Award
Leslie Hart, HPCS management team lead, and Scott Nahman, logistics
management specialist, are part of a group selected
to receive a 2005 NOAA Administrator's Award for their "extraordinary efforts,
dedication, and teamwork to develop and issue integrated requirements for a
NOAA high performance computer system that realistically demonstrates our
One-NOAA vision."
4 May 05
FSL hosts workshop on the Collaborative
Convective Forecast Product
FSL hosted a May 2 - 4 workshop at which government and industry researchers
discussed the evolution of the Collaborative Convective Forecast Product to a
probabilistic forecast and its application to strategic decision-making
procedures, and verification and evaluation of the CCFP forecast.
30 Apr 05
FSL Researchers Receive 2005
NOAA Administrator's Award
FSL researchers Paul Schultz and Patricia Miller are among a group
selected to receive a 2005 NOAA Administrator's Award for their work supporting
development of improved weather products and services to support the nation's
surface transportation system.
FSL's Mesoscale Model Ensemble
Supports the 2005 MDSS Demonstration
An ensemble of FSL mesoscale models is used to generate point forecasts
along roadways, which contribute to more efficient, less costly, and less
environmentally damaging snow plowing operations and chemical application.
FSL Participates in ROA Flight
Demonstration Project
FSL participated in a test flight of the Altair Remotely Operated Aircraft
(ROA) on April 20, 2005 in California. The technology demonstrated provides
many scientific benefits including offering a rapid response platform for
improved high impact weather forecasts at 1-day to 2-week lead times, and
better climate change detection, attribution, and prediction in support of
policy decisions.
4 Mar 05
Alaska's Recent Heavy Snowfall
Affects Profiler Wind Measurements
Wind reports from the Talkeetna, Alaska, profiler were degraded by
recent heavy snows. Clearing the snow has restored data to their normal
quality.
FSL Troika's Vision for
Operational Regional Radar Volume Now a Reality
A recent National Weather Service announcement of implementation of a
project to electronically collect and distribute WSR-88D Level II data in
real time culminates work first envisioned at FSL 12 years ago.
3 Mar 05
NOAA's Supercomputer at FSL
Becomes More Powerful
An upgrade to the NOAA High Performance Computer System housed at
FSL significantly raises the volume of work that can be completed in the
same time as before.
2 Mar 05
FSL Supports the DTC Winter
Forecast Experiment
FSL is contributing scientific and technological expertise to the
Developmental Testbed Center (DTC) and its Winter Forecast Experiment
(DWFE).
15 Feb 05
PADS and LAPS Increase Accuracy
of Military Airdrops
FSL has been collaborating with the US Army Natick Soldier Systems
Center and the USAF Air Mobility Command to develop and field the latest
technologies applied to precision airdrops.
14 Feb 05
NOAA Invited to Implement LAPS
for a Helsinki Mesoscale Experiment
To support the Finnish Meteorological Institute's (FMI) Helsinki
Four-Season Mesoscale Testbed, NOAA's Local Analysis and Prediction System
(LAPS) will be used for diabatic initialization of FMI's High Resolution
Limited Area Model.
FSL Implements New VTEC Software
for the National Weather Service
FSL has just completed many months of intense development to implement the
Valid Time Event Code (VTEC) for NWS Watches, Warnings, and Advisories.
28 Jan 05
FSL Evaluating New Weather
Sensor System for Commercial Aircraft
FSL, NWS, and NASA are engaged in a six-month test of a new
weather sensor being carried on regional commercial aircraft.
14 Jan 05
FSL Scientists Present Papers at
85th AMS Annual Meeting
Scientists from FSL presented 14 papers at the 85th American
Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting in San Diego.
12 Jan 05
Data Available from More
Cooperative Agency Profilers
Four new Cooperative Agency Profilers have been added to the CAP list,
and two other sites have been reactivated.
07 Jan 05
Weather Watchers, MADIS, and CWOP
Featured in New York Times Article
A recent NY Times article featured the role played by private citizens
in collecting and sharing detailed weather observations useful for weather
professionals.
04 Jan 05
FSL and CMDL Collaborating to
Evaluate GPS for Climate Studies
CMDL's Mauna Loa Observatory is hosting an FSL GPS receiver to
evaluate some uses of GPS in climate studies.