The Marine Meteorology Division of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is currently developing two automated on-scene systems to deliver high-resolution meteorological information to the fleet’s operational forecasters, war fighters, and decision-makers. These systems are operational extensions of existing and evolving research efforts in the real-time integration of data. The state-of-the-art for the assessment of battlespace environmental conditions is advancing to a 4-D awareness by continuous fusion of multi-source observations and on-scene short-term mesoscale model predictions. Meteorological information in the 0-2h (“nowcast”) timeframe is critical to tactical decision-making within the battlegroup, and until now, observations and real-time mesoscale forecasts have not been effectively bridged for Naval interests. Nowcast for the Next Generation Navy (NOWCAST), together with the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System – On Scene (COAMPS-OS^TM) at forward-deployed locations, compose the on-scene, tactical-scale tier of NRL’s telescoping strategy for mission success.

The NRL NOWCAST system is an enterprise-class, network-centric data fusion system that will allow the forward-deployed battlegroup to automatically and continuously blend meteorological data from available sources to characterize the battlespace virtual natural environment. NOWCAST continuously transmits updated products directly to end-users and allows grouping and tailoring of the products to specific war-fighting and decision-making requirements, thus providing a capability for common environmental situational awareness.

Recent developments in the user interface and product visualization will be presented and demonstrated. These accomplishments include development of Level-II and Level-III NEXRAD products - including VAD wind profiles, plotting of lightning strikes from national networks, enhancement of satellite cloud imagery, and a comprehensive verification and quality control monitor.