Lessons Learned from the 2023 HWT Satellite Convective Applications Experiment

The Satellite Convective Applications Experiment experiment in NOAA’s Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) provides an operational demonstration of new capabilities, algorithms, and products from the GOES-R and JPSS series of satellites. Evaluations focus on forecaster understanding of GOES-R and JPSS data, visualizations in AWIPS, and best practices for potentially integrating these data into operations. Five product suites were demonstrated in the 2023 experiment: NOAA Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS), Optical flow Code for Tracking, Atmospheric motion vectors, and Nowcasting Experiments (OCTANE) Motions and Speed Sandwich, Polar Hyperspectral Sounder and Microwave Imagery in the Advanced Baseline Imager (PHS) model, the Probability of Severe (ProbSevere) LightningCast model, and the ProbSevere all-hazards model – Version 3. The products were demonstrated in live, real-time convective scenarios by 22 NWS forecasters across one in-person week and two virtual weeks in May and June of 2023. Forecasters were provided several tasks that simulated their usual tasks in operations, along with soliciting their feedback through group discussions, blog posts, and surveys. The feedback received from forecasters was used to make recommendations for future product development, research, training, and operational implementation. This presentation will feature experimental data applications within the testbed, forecaster feedback, and experiences from in-person and virtual testbed environments.