Unisys Weather Information Services

Presentation for

NWS Partners Meeting

Partner Perspective

June 2010Ron Guy, DirectorUnisys Weather Ronald.Guy@unisys.com

2 22 June 2010

Agenda

Partner Perspective on Weather Enterprise Sector Relations and Direction

• Where We Were

• Where We Are

• Where We Are Going

3 22 June 2010

Where We Were

1980’s and early 1990’s• Limited information and technology constrained

- Satellite picture images (no data) with limited analysis data

- Isolated weather radar with no images for public dissemination

- Model data with limited time range and accuracy

- Limited IT infrastructure

- Good ground observation network

• 1990’s

- Transformation of weather observing/forecasting with GOES, WSR-88D (NEXRAD), AWIPS, NCEP Models

- Transformation of IT with computing and communications

- Internet enabled

• Prior patterns of delivering weather information changed and weather forecast accuracy gained value

4 22 June 2010

Where We Were

Stage Set for Confusion and Conflict in Weather Industry

• Private, Academic, and Public weather providers have new and better information with ability to directly disseminate in real-time much improved weather information developed over a short time-frame

• Roles were blurred greatly with enablement of both Public and Non-Public weather information providers

• Sometimes unknown, unexpected products and initiatives came out from NWS that impacted commercial business

5 22 June 2010

Where We Were

Effects• Loss of commercial business from new, unexpected

experimental products (on rare occasion putting small commercial company or consultant out of business)

• Commercial and academia not knowing where to put investments

• Limited NWS resources diverted from core competencies and needs

• End users without support when NWS agenda changed or experimental products ended

6 22 June 2010

Where We Were

Finally Came NRC (National Research Council) and “Fair Weather” (2003)

• Eleven recommendations to address the “friction” among the three Weather Enterprise sectors

• Fundamentally, suggested ideas to make public sector plans more transparent, improve communications between Public and Private Partners, and to recognize key roles of the sectors

• Suggests forums to encourage transparency (NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB) and AMS)

• No boundaries were set, but framework was recommended to work together in the Weather Enterprise

• Still leaves a lot of uncertainty on specifics of roles

7 22 June 2010

Where We Are

Results• In 2008, NOAA SAB established plan to standup the

Partnership Working Group (PWG) and which is now evolved into the Environmental Information Service Working Group (EISWG) with a temporary mission as SAB advisory committee to be evaluated after one year

• AMS facilitates communications with Weather and Climate Enterprise Commission having the many interests of the Enterprise reviewed and discussed

• Although not immediate, level of harmony significantly improved since 2003 and even before

- Enterprise recognized the need for cooperation in many areas

- The tone started to change in early decade when all sectors cooperated in common interest to improve NWS data collection and dissemination infrastructure with reliability and redundancy

8 22 June 2010

Where Are We Going

Better Coordination of Enterprise

• NWS agenda more transparent even if not always agreed upon within the Enterprise

• Support from private and academic sectors continues for many if not all NWS goals

• Discussions on figuring out the problems to solve and effort to prioritize initiatives within the Enterprise (e.g., improved weather observations access with Network of Networks, Alternative Energy requirements, Climate measurement and forecasting)

• Transformational Automated Decision-Making Weather Information

- Infrastructure (Efficient use of massive weather information explosion)

- Weather products (accuracy and probabilities)

- Weather Information to User Interpretation and Decision (user & business application)

9 22 June 2010

Where Are We Going

Commercial Partners Requests Being Met• Give us more advanced notice on what NWS products are

planned- Processes in place

• Give us the data to use in machine readable format so public safety information is transported more quickly and more uses can be made of the data (business and user decision-making)

- Problems worked out and new, modern formats implemented

• Focus NWS resources on improving the science, enhancing model forecasts, deploying observing platforms, and improving infrastructure

- GOES-R, Network of Networks, Probabilistic Weather Products, NEXRAD/MPAR/CASA…

The Great Frontier• Climate Forecasting and Verification (Global Scale)• Micrometeorology Forecasting and Microclimatology

Databases