The testing of NSSL multi-sensor applications and data from prototype platforms in NWS forecast operations

The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is delivering experimental data and applications to National Weather Service forecast offices in Oklahoma and Missouri. The products under evaluation by forecasters include those from prototype platforms, such as bulk hydrometeor classification provided by dual-pol radar and three-dimensional lightning information from the Oklahoma lightning mapping array. Experimental severe weather diagnostic tools are also being tested, including quantitative precipitation estimates derived from multiple sensors, low-level rotation track maps, and multi-radar hail analysis tools which incorporate near-storm environment model data. Many of these experimental data sets are being viewed with the NSSL's Warning Decision Support System - Integrated Information (WDSS-II), which allows four-dimensional data visualization in real-time and the automated processing of data from multiple platforms. Preliminary results from these ongoing tests, including examples from specific cases, are presented. The advantages to using a multi-sensor, four-dimensional visualazation approach to operational hazardous weather assessment are discussed.