Wednesday, 12 January 2005
Examples of GFESuite and D2D Use in Operations During 2004
In the past few years, the Graphical Forecast Editor (called the GFESuite) has become the primary tool that operational forecasters at National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices use to create and edit their gridded forecast fields. As the GFESuite continues to evolve, new tools and capabilities are offered for this purpose. Also evolving is the primary AWIPS two-dimensional data display (D2D) used by NWS forecasters that now offers additional datasets and higher-resolution data. We are evaluating how forecasters are using these tools to evaluate the weather and to generate and maintain their forecast fields. In this study, GFE computer logs collected in 2004 are examined to determine which tools and capabilities are being used by the NWS forecasters. The GFE logs record status information, which tools and capabilities are used, and a time stamp indicating exactly when tools are used or when specific actions are performed. Week-long log "snapshots" are being collected from different forecast offices and during varied weather conditions. With these snapshots, we can examine the range and frequency of product usage by a number of forecasters who have a variety of forecast responsibilities. A summary of these results, including any common usage patterns that arise, will be presented and discussed, based on these snapshots. Additionally, a sample of D2D logs collected concurrently at one of the sites will be evaluated in order to determine how and when forecasters use each of these capabilities.
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