The National Weather Service Commercial Data Buy Program

The National Weather Service (NWS) Commercial Data Buy (CDB) portfolio consists of a number or programs whereby the NWS procures non-federal data to fill gaps in federal observing systems, and enhance and improve its forecast and warning mission. The National Mesonet Program (NMP), established in 2009, is the largest program in the portfolio. Since 2009, the NMP has evolved from a program focused on procurement of surface meteorological observing networks ("mesonets") operated by the states and the private sector to a broad-based commercial observations program including surface data, marine and ocean data from buoys and other platforms, and upper air data from commercial balloons, aircraft, ground-based remote sensing, and radar. It is currently the largest data buy program in NOAA both in terms of budget and the volume of observations procured. The Aircraft-Based Observations Program is focused solely on upper-air observations from commercial aircraft.

Both programs have grown significantly in recent years and function as effective public-private partnerships. In this presentation that growth is reviewed with an eye to the future, including questions around the appropriate mix of federal and non-federal observations, the questions of data access and sharing, and what is needed next to best serve the mission of NWS and all our partners both domestically and globally in the weather enterprise.