Real-Time NOAA WP-3D Tail-Doppler Radar in AWIPS-II: A Successful R2O Transition

A joint project between the Hurricane Research Division (HRD) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) aims to deliver National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WP-3D aircraft X-Band tail Doppler radar (TDR) to the Hurricane Specialist Unit (HSU) forecasters in near-real-time. HSU has traditionally received a single line of data along the flight track, including dropsondes and winds from the flight-level and stepped frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR). The TDR data extends beyond the flight track and provides a more extensive view of the storm structure.

HRD developed a method to composite three-dimensional reflectivity and winds from the TDR over a fixed earth-relative domain with 0.5-km vertical resolution in netCDF format. The NHC is in the midst of a transition to the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS-II), a display software used across the National Weather Service (NWS), and maturity of the AWIPS-II netCDF decoder has allowed for the effective display of data files from the TDR. AWIPS-II contains many well-developed tools for displaying reflectivity and Doppler velocity radar data sets, including color curves, contour fields, 4-panel joint displays, satellite overlays, cross-sections, forecast and derived fields calculated from the original wind and reflectivity fields.

This talk will discuss the aspects and limitations of viewing WP-3D TDR observations from 18 vertical levels of data in AWIPS-II. The project activities, tasks, and deliverables will be discussed, with a specific focus on describing the format of these new data sets and the possibility for sharing the data across the NWS using AWIPS-II.