GOES-R PG: NWS Visits

National Weather Service Collaborative Visits

Date
 Location
 National Weather Service Participants
May 22, 2008
 Central Region Headquarters, WFO Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI @ CIMSS/SSEC L. Maximuk, K. Rizzo, J. Wood
The Sub-regional (“Midwest”) Data Stewardship Workshop was held on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.  Amidst the meeting proceedings, Central Region Director L. Maximuk and NWS Sullivan Meteorologist-In-Charge K. Rizzo visited the CIMSS to discuss some of the local CIMSS activities dealing with the NWS and satellite applications in AWIPS.  This included talk of the GOES-R Proving Ground.
May 29-30, 2008
 Central Region Headquarters, Aviation Weather Center (@ Kansas City, MO)
 P. Browning, G. Noonan, S. Silberberg
At NWS Central Region Headquarters (CRH) in Kansas City, MO, six CIMSS and Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) scientists presented five talks and led discussions on new satellite applications, developed at CIMSS/ASPB, and provided to NWS via the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) as part of GOES-R Proving Ground and related activities. Satellite topics included MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) applications, updates on Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Sounder products, special aviation weather satellite products, forecast imagery from the CIMSS Regional Assimilation System (CRAS), and a dynamic "nearcasting" system. There were a dozen participants on-site from CRH, the NWS Aviation Weather Center (AWC), and the two nearest NWS Forecast Offices (FOs; Topeka, KS and Pleasant Hill, MO), while about ten other NWS FOs participated remotely via web broadcast.  The visiting CIMSS team were able to tour the AWC and continue their discussions with more forecasters.
June 25, 2008
 @ WFO Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI J. Craven, K. Licitar, S. Hentz, M. Gehring, P. Collar
As part of an effort to keep project objectives relative to the needs of the field forecasters, informal presentations and meetings were held with present office staff to discuss the future of satellite imagery and how it can assist in weather situations difficult to forecast.  The current research-to-operations, including GOES-R Proving Ground, images and products currently transmitted to NWS Sullivan was assessed, with some minor corrections made.  Feedback was collected.
July 31, 2008
 WFO Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI @ CIMSS/SSEC
 C. Backlund, C. Franks, S. Hentz, K. Licitar
As a part of current collaborative activities in exchanging data and information with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Sullivan, Wisconsin, J. Gerth gave a brief demonstration of the next generation AWIPS, AWIPS II, introducing the server architecture and user interface.  K. Bah show the visitors synethic GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) imagery he was preparing as part of a case for the Weather Event Simulator (WES).
August 5, 2008
 @ WFO Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI J. Craven, K. Licitar, R. McMahon, J. Wood, M. Gehring
NWS Sullivan was introduced to gridded data from the CIMSS Regional Assimilation System (CRAS), which has a purpose of illustrating the benefit of satellite observations in numerical weather prediction (NWP).  The new CRAS data in GRIdded Binary 2 (GRIB2) format, added into the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) will give forecasters a different perspective than existing NWP models.  The existing suite of GOES-R Proving Ground images and products were also checked to verify their accessibility in AWIPS.
August 20, 2008
 @ WFO Huntsville, AL
 M. Coyne, J. Burks
J. Gerth met with Meteorologist-In-Charge M. Coyne and Information Technology Officer J. Burks to discuss the unique arrangement between NWS Huntsville and the Short-term Prediction and Transition Center (SPoRT).  Also discussed was how NWS Huntsville, SPoRT, and CIMSS can work together to strongly embrace the collective mission of the GOES-R Proving Ground.
August 22, 2008
 @ WFO Nashville, TN
 H. Steigerwaldt, M. Davis
J. Gerth and Information Technology Officer M. Davis worked to troubleshoot the CIMSS Regional Assimilation System (CRAS) ingest.  J. Gerth and H. Steigerwaldt talked about the GOES-R Proving Ground and the use of satellite imagery in operations.  There were also informal discussions with forecasters about imagery from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).
September 3, 2008
 @ WFO Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI J. Craven, K. Licitar, S. Hentz, J. Wood
On K. Licitar's last day as the Information Technology Officer before retirement, J. Gerth met with him to give thanks and praise for his dedicated work with CIMSS as part of the GOES-R Proving Ground.  J. Gerth also talked with a large number of NWS Sullivan forecasters about GOES-R Proving Ground and research to operations activities of the past, present, and future.
September 17, 2008
 WFO Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI @ CIMSS/SSEC M. Cronce
M. Cronce is a new general forecaster who will serve as the de facto liaison between NWS Sullivan and CIMSS to increase dialogue between the two institutions.  As part of the visit, M. Cronce met with three NESDIS Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) scientists and several state scientists to discuss operational implications of current and future Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), as well as the background and impetus of the GOES-R Proving Ground.

Compiled by J. Gerth (11/12/2008)