A preview of NCEP's new product communication strategies and data visualization Initiatives

NCEP Central Operations recognizes that our customers' ability to accurately and quickly locate data is a key factor for success. Diversity in the types of data available and in the ways it can be presented is also important for discovery and investigation. This discussion is centered on the new ways of delivering products to our customers, both internal and external to the National Weather Service (NWS); and in presenting those data in new, exciting ways that make use of emerging computer-rendering technologies. The Model Analyses and Guidance (MAG) experimental web site was launched last year. This site showcases the NWS observational database and suite of numerical model analysis and guidance products in a streamlined graphical approach. The NOAA Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS) provide access to NCEP's operational datasets, in gridded format, as they are generated. During the past year, new models and additional functionality were added to both sites, based on customer feedback. We are now experimenting with the availability of model output in GIS-based formats such as KML/KMZ, GeoTIFFs, and Shapefiles. In addition to these web sites, NCEP and NOAA's Web Operations Center have been involved with the Federal Aviation Administration's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Net-Enabled Weather (NNEW) program.