Generating automated monthly, seasonal and annual climatological summaries in the AWIPS era

AWIPS is the final element in the $4.5B NWS Modernization Program. The Climate program is a part of AWIPS Build 5 and is the latest version of a program whose roots can be traced back to the Automation of Forecast and Operations Services (AFOS) computer and product display system. Automated daily climate summaries were created by the version of the Climate program implemented in Build 4.2. Monthly, seasonal, and annual automated climate summaries will be implemented in the Build 5 version of the Climate program.

The new Climate program for AWIPS will produce automated daily, monthly, seasonal and annual climatological summaries for dissemination over the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) and NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS).

The NWWS product will consist of two sections, a tabular portion and a text portion. The tabular portion will contain climatological data of numerous meteorological variables, such as temperature, precipitation, visibility and weather. This portion will be generated automatically without significant input from the user. The text portion will summarize the period's significant climatological features. The user will enter the text portion after viewing the tabular section. The two sections will be merged prior to transmission.

Set-up, configuration and execution of the Climate program is simplified through the use of Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). The new GUIs allow users to choose the stations, meteorological elements, and climatological elements (e.g., record, normal and departure from normal values) that will be summarized