Contact: Barry Reichenbaugh FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4/13/98
Commerce Secretary William M. Daley has approved the National Weather Service's plan for a full production and installation of interactive weather computer and communications systems that will help provide better weather- and flood-related services to protect life and property. Today's decision authorizes production of 95 additional systems necessary to improve the data flow and forecast and warning services of the National Weather Service. In total, 152 Advanced Weather Interactive Processing Systems (AWIPS) will be installed nationwide by the end of FY 1999.
"This decision is a significant milestone in our commitment to the American people to finish the modernization and restructuring of the National Weather Service," said Secretary Daley. "When AWIPS is installed in Weather Forecast Offices all over the United States, our forecasters can take full advantage of the many modern technologies we've added over the past several years and serve the public more effectively and efficiently."
"Completing the National Weather Service modernization is the top priority with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration," said D. James Baker, under secretary for oceans and atmosphere. "AWIPS lets our forecasters display weather data in a variety of ways, quickly analyze evolving weather systems, and issue timely forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property."
The AWIPS system will replace the National Weather Service's existing 1970s-era weather communications system known as Automation of Field Operations and Services (AFOS). AWIPS will allow forecasters to display and analyze satellite imagery, radar data, automated weather observations and computer-generated numerical forecasts, all in one workstation.
"The feedback I get from our offices that already have AWIPS is that it's an outstanding tool," said Jack Kelly, NOAA assistant administrator for weather services. "Before AWIPS, our forecasters relied on three or more systems to view the information needed to produce forecasts and warnings. With AWIPS, our forecasters can quickly see and use weather data from a variety of systems, all at one workstation."
Over the past year, early versions of the sophisticated workstation and communications network were installed at a number of sites around the country for operational testing and evaluation. The tests demonstrated AWIPS' capabilities, including communication of weather satellite imagery and weather forecast guidance via a satellite broadcast network; the state-of-art workstation's ability to display and manipulate radar, satellite, and other weather data; and the operations of a central monitoring and communications facility.
The National Weather Service is using an incremental software development approach for this program as a risk reduction measure. Seventeen systems were installed for test and evaluation. Another 21 systems were authorized in early 1997 for a limited deployment; installation of these systems is complete. An order for 19 additional limited deployment systems was placed in December 1997; installation of these 19 systems begins in June. By accelerating the installation of the remaining 95 systems to an average of 10 per month, the NWS will complete deployment by June 1999.
To date, a network of 120 state-of-the-art NWS Doppler radars and 264 of the planned 314 NWS automated surface observing systems are operational nationwide. Two advanced geostationary weather satellites, GOES-8 and GOES-9, are keeping watch over the United States and well into the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. An identical third satellite, GOES-10, is available if one of the operational satellites fails. In addition, 13 River Forecast Centers and 119 of the planned 121 new Weather Forecast Offices are serving the country.
AWIPS is being developed by the NWS, NOAA's Forecast Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., and PRC Inc. of McLean, Va.
The AWIPS system earned a 1997 "Best of What's New" award from Popular Science magazine.
More information about AWIPS, (including reproducible images of what forecasters see on AWIPS display screens) is available on the Internet at: http://tgsv5.nws.noaa.gov/msm/awips/awipsmsm.htm