Prototype deployment of the NCAR thunderstorm nowcasting system in the NWS AWIPS: description of the Texas and Florida testbeds

The NCAR short-term thunderstorm nowcasting system (Auto-Nowcaster or ANC), which uses a variety of operational datasets including NEXRAD radar and NWP output fields, has recently been transferred to the NWS Meteorological Development Laboratory for inclusion in an NWS AWIPS-ANC prototype system. This prototype system is running currently at the NWS Dallas/Ft.Worth Forecast Office (WFO) as part of the NWS Forecaster-Over-the-Loop nowcasting demonstration. During the late summer of 2009, the AWIPS-ANC system will be installed and run as part of the NWS/FAA/NASA Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) testbed demonstration in Florida. NextGen is planned to be the air transportation system of the future with a fully computerized air transportation network designed to be adaptable; enabling aircraft to immediately adjust to ever changing factors: weather, traffic congestion, flight trajectory patterns, and security issues.

This paper will describe the Texas and Florida testbeds and the AWIPS-ANC nowcasting applications that the NWS forecasters will be using at the Melbourne WFO and Central Weather Service Unit during the NextGen demonstration. Real-time verification studies will be conducted to assess value-added improvement to the short-term thunderstorm nowcasts when the forecaster is engaged in the nowcasting process. Specific weather events will be highlighted. Efforts on converting the AWIPS-ANC deterministic forecasts into probabilistic form will also be discussed.