P12.13 Utilizing the NSSL Next Generation Warning Decision Support System in real-time warning operations at the Jackson, Mississippi National weather service (Formerly Paper 9.2)

Friday, 15 September 2000
Alan E. Gerard, NOAA/NWS, Jackson, MS; and J. W. Conway

The National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Jackson, MS, is currently utilizing a prototype of the National Severe Storm Laboratory's Next Generation Warning Decision Support System (NG-WDSS) for real time warning operations. This paper will focus on how NG-WDSS has been effectively used in Jackson during severe weather warning operations.

The NG-WDSS in Jackson is unique in that it ingests base data from three WSR-88D radars (Jackson, MS, Mobile, AL, and Columbus AFB, MS), and allows warning meteorologists to display base data, derived products, and output from state of the art algorithms from all three radars. Additionally, the NG-WDSS gives warning forecasters an algorithm output display called County Warning Area Table which enables the meteorologist to quickly ascertain which storms are most likely to be severe. The radar data display functionality of NG-WDSS enables the warning meteorologist to quickly integrate the available data to make effective severe weather warning decisions. This will be demonstrated by a discussion of the 14 April 1999 F3 tornado over southeastern Mississippi in which NG-WDSS and the availability of multi-radar data greatly assisted in the issuance of effective warnings for this storm.

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