PDA Animated Weather (PAW) is a free, web based service provided by the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC). The service provides access to a unique collection of real-time meteorological products which have been optimized for display on Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices. These products include both static and animated imagery, graphical overlays of observed and derived parameters and plain text displays. The interface provides roam, zoom, animation and graphic overlay capabilities for a comprehensive set of geographical domains. It is intended as a technology demonstrator, providing public access and display of time critical atmospheric conditions via handheld PDAs capable of wireless internet access.

PAW architecture is an example of a pure server-based PDA-friendly web site. It relies on an existing client side web browser to handle display, animation and user interface. PDA-based micro browsers support a level of html coding that permits animated GIF images and touch- or cursor- driven screen dislays. These are the only hardware/firmware constraints placed on the device. This level of functionality can be considered an "off the shelf" industry standard configuration. The approach eliminates ties to a particular brand or operating system and all the associated development and support costs.

Since the service became operational 2 years ago, the product suite has grown to include datasets from a variety of local, national and international sources. These data are collected and mapped into a standard set of geographic projections and presented as a unified set. Product production relies on a comprehensive collection of data sources available through the SSEC Data Center. These collections are avaiable via numerous on-site archives of remotely sensed and observed sources, or through client/server access to remote repositories.

The PAW service has grown to become a nationally recognized resource. Web statistics indicate a sustained average of over 3 million requests per month throught the first half of 2007. This represents a data access volume of approximately 14 gigabytes per month. A new Google Gadget has been introduced providing an active desktop version of the PAW service. This implementation offers users a standaloneweb active application taht uses the existing PAW interface and product set.