J9.8
Acessing Marine Data for AWIPS Applications at NWS Corpus Christi
Andrew R. Patrick, NOAA/NWS, Corpus Christi, TX
National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters rely heavily on timely observational data for forecasts and warning operations. Many NWS offices have access to high-resolution “mesonets” that supplement their observational network. While much emphasis has been placed on land-based “mesonets”, marine forecasters also desire high-resolution observations along the coast and offshore waters. Data from the National Ocean Service (NOS) and the National Data Buoy center (NDBC) is available on the AWIPS SBN. However, in order to obtain a larger set of marine observations along the Texas coast, NWS Corpus Christi has taken two initiatives. First, to obtain more frequent NOS data, a local program (outside the AWIPS firewall) was developed to dial NOS tide gauges every thirty minutes. Second, through agreement with the Conrad Blucher Institute at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, coastal weather and tidal data from the Texas Coastal Oceanic Observational Network (TCOON) is available for as many as fifty sites along the Texas coast and nearshore waters. The LDAD system is used to distribute the data to AWIPS. After the data is processed in AWIPS, it can be plotted on D2D and can be added to improve observational fields in MSAS and LAPS. Finally, this data can also be used to enhance AWIPS local applications and local model initialization.
Joint Session 9, Data and Information Handling (Joint with AWIPS and IIPS)
Thursday, 17 January 2002, 8:30 AM-3:30 PM
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