| a lot of info to go thru, but then it looks like there's a lot of changes - I guess there's just no way to simply state it. I'm liking all the changes I've seen with NHC & other NOAA sites so far NOUS41 KWBC 211850 AAA PNSWSH Public Information Statement, Comment Request, Amended National Weather Service Headquarters Washington DC 350 PM EDT Thu Mar 21 2013 To: Subscribers: -Family of Services -NOAA Weather Wire Service -Emergency Managers Weather Information Network -NOAAPORT Other NWS users and employees From: Mark Tew Chief, Marine and Coastal Services Branch Subject: Amended: Experimental Gridded Marine Offshore and High Seas Forecasts in the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) Effective Wednesday March 20, 2013 This notice was amended to additionally notify users NHC will delete the TAFB experimental gridded marine offshore and high seas forecasts Web page referenced below when the new NDFD oceanic grid becomes available for display on the experimental NDFD map viewer. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tafb/gridded_marine/ Effective Wednesday March 20, 2013, at 1200 Coordinated Universal time (UTC), the NWS Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB) will begin providing, on an experimental basis, gridded forecasts of four marine weather elements over its offshore waters and high seas forecast areas of responsibility (AOR) in the Atlantic and Pacific. The grids will be included in NDFD. The Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) will begin providing offshore grids on May 1, 2013. OPC high seas forecasts grids are expected to be added during 2014. The Honolulu Weather Forecast Office will provide grids when necessary hardware improvements are completed later this year. The Weather Forecast Offices in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau, AK, currently provide five variables over their offshore waters on an experimental basis to the NDFD in the Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea, and Gulf of Alaska basins. The TAFB experimental 5-day forecasts of gridded mean sea level pressure, surface (10-meter) winds, and significant wave heights on the National Hurricane Center Web page at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tafb/gridded_marine/ will be discontinued when the new NDFD oceanic grid becomes available for display on the experimental NDFD map viewer. The gridded marine parameters include surface wind direction and speed, wind gusts, significant wave heights, and marine hazards. The Alaska offices also produce a weather grid. The upper right latitude, longitude for this new oceanic grid is: 79.99N, 10.71E The lower left corner lies directly on NCEP grid 204 point, which coincides with all other Pacific region NDFD grids. The lower left latitude, longitude for this grid is: 30.42S, 129.91E Specific information on the grid domain can be found at http://graphical.weather.gov/docs/ndfdSRS.htm Areas of the new offshore grids that coincide with the NDFD CONUS grid will be included in the CONUS mosaic. Each offshore and high seas producer will update their grids at least four times per day. As of March 20, 2013, experimental marine grids are online at: http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/SL.us008001/ST.expr/DF.gr2/DC.ndfd/AR.oceanic/VP.001-003/ http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/SL.us008001/ST.expr/DF.gr2/DC.ndfd/AR.oceanic/VP.004-007/ ftp://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/SL.us008001/ST.expr/DF.gr2/DC.ndfd/AR.oceanic/VP.001-003/ ftp://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/SL.us008001/ST.expr/DF.gr2/DC.ndfd/AR.oceanic/VP.004-007/ More details regarding these elements are available in the Product Description Document in the online catalog of Experimental NWS products and services available at: http://products.weather.gov/PDD/Ex_Grid_Offshore_HS_ndfd.pdf With this implementation, forecasts for these new zones will be available from NDFD in the following standard methods: - Gridded Binary Version 2 (GRIB2) files via Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - Extensible Markup Language (XML) via Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) - Graphics via web browser Graphics for the oceanic grid will be available via the new experimental NDFD map viewer located at: http://preview.weather.gov/graphical/ Both graphics, and XML via SOAP will become available within 30 days of these grids being produced. Information on accessing and using NDFD elements is online at: http://ndfd.weather.gov/technical.htm Comments and feedback on these experimental TAFB Offshore and High Seas NDFD elements, as well as the OPC Offshore elements, are welcome at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=EGOSWHSMF GRIB2 users: http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=ndfd-grids Users OF XML SOAP service: http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=xmlsoap NDFD online graphics: http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=gfp These new Offshore and High Seas Marine elements will remain Experimental until NWS assesses feedback and completes a Technical Analysis. At that time, the NWS will determine whether to move these experimental elements to operational status, discontinue them, or revise and extend the experimental feedback period. If March 20, 2013, is declared a Critical Weather Day this implementation date will be postponed. Users will be notified of that decision via another Public Information Statement and a new implementation date will be established. If you have questions regarding this notice, please contact: David Soroka National Marine Program Manager National Weather Service Headquarters Silver Spring Maryland 20910 301-713-1677X111 David.Soroka@noaa.gov For general questions regarding NDFD data, please email: NWS.NDFD@noaa.gov For technical questions regarding NDFD data, please contact: David Ruth Mesoscale Prediction Branch Chief NOAA/NWS Office of Science and Technology Silver Spring, Maryland David.Ruth@noaa.gov 301-713-1768x157 NDFD Public Information Statements are online at: http://www.weather.gov/ndfd/tins.htm All National Technical Implementation Notices are online at: http://www.weather.gov/os/notif.htm $$ |