Extended Abstract (456K)5A.7
The IRIS StormLog Application
Eric Lenning, NOAA/NWS Chicago WFO, Romeoville, IL; and D. Borsum, M. Solum, M. Sutton, and M. Seaman
The National Weather Service (NWS) Inter-Regional Integrated Services (IRIS) Database Project seeks to create a single foundation upon which numerous independent software applications can be built. Two key aspects of the IRIS project are a geospatially enabled relational database and a set of programming libraries for utilizing this database. StormLog, one of the first such programs being developed for the IRIS platform, is a map-based web application for managing contact information (e.g. spotters, emergency responders, media), for logging interactions between the NWS and these contacts, and for tracking NWS outreach activities.
IRIS applications like StormLog do not duplicate tools provided by the NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) for interrogating hydro-meteorological data. Rather, these applications track NWS customer information, customer needs, and all interactions between the NWS and those affected by its services. Of course, many NWS customers also serve as vital partners in the NWS mission, feeding critical information to the NWS during active weather. Instead of managing customer needs in one place and storm reports in another, IRIS puts all this information together in one database. In this way, IRIS applications such as StormLog can serve the needs of internal and external NWS users at all levels, from local forecast offices to national headquarters.
StormLog is designed so critical information can be accessed by forecasters from any PC. This information is displayed in tables or overlaid with maps, radar images, satellite photos, and other imagery. Any staff member can edit this information, and all updates are available everywhere instantly, including at backup offices. AWIPS applications that display contact information also can be updated on a nightly basis from the IRIS database used by StormLog.
During active weather, StormLog completely replaces paper phone logs. A call logged on any PC is visible on all PCs. This cuts down on noise, improves communication, and reduces duplication of effort by helping avoid repeat calls to one source. Online logs also help warning forecasters incorporate real-time reports into statements, and are easily accessed by neighboring offices. StormLog also would allow a Local Storm Report or similar product to be sent as soon as a severe report is logged, without re-entering information in a separate application. Of course, non-severe reports also have value and could be disseminated in a similar manner.
More critically, however, StormLog seeks to improve both the temporal and the spatial accuracy of reports. Reports can be correlated in time and space to specific radar echoes and map locations, instead of being assigned an estimated time and direction/range from a town. Reports also could be collected from various external interfaces including eSpotter, camera phones with a global positioning system, mesonets, the Automated Surface Observing System, and the amateur radio Automated Position Reporting System. Finally, polygon warnings could be integrated with all of these high-quality reports to produce real-time verification statistics.
While StormLog certainly is not the only application of its kind in the NWS, its design and ties to the IRIS platform make it somewhat unique at this time. The browser-based architecture of StormLog means no special software or hardware is needed on client PCs, and that the latest StormLog software is available everywhere instantly. Most data processing occurs on the server, and both the database and the application can be hosted locally, regionally, or nationally.
The IRIS StormLog program is a complete redesign of the StormLog application that has been in use at the St. Louis NWS office for several years. As part of the IRIS platform, StormLog data now can be shared with many other applications to support better coordination with partners, a greater focus on customer needs and service requirements for the NWS as a whole, and more accurate storm reports for improved performance measures.
Session 5A, GIS Applications (Continued)
Tuesday, 22 January 2008, 3:30 PM-5:30 PM, 206
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