Web-Based GRIB2 Visualization Techniques at the Aviation Weather Testbed

The GRIB2 format data is widely used in the meteorological community, particularly for numerical weather prediction (NWP) data within the National Weather Service (NWS). The Aviation Weather Testbed (AWT) uses both the National Center AWIPS (N-AWIPS), as well as AWIPS used by most field operations in the NWS and future operational platform of the center; however neither are flexible enough for research to operations (R2O) needs of the AWT. Data frequently needs to be viewed outside of either of these platforms, particularly through internet web browsers, for both local and remote collaboration work.

Recent versions of Javascript client-side web browser scripting support the processing of binary formats like GRIB2, allowing for full end-to-end processing from data to visualization in one place making it fully dynamic, without needing compiled code or plugins like Java and Flash. Color tables, data ranges, and more can be adjusted by the end user instead of relying on static imagery. Additional work allows for three-dimensional interrogation of Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) output in real time. This paper presents results from work in visualizing GRIB2 data on the fly to support R2O efforts in the AWT.