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-------- Original Message --------
574
NOUS41 KWBC 031950
PNSWSH
Technical Implementation Notice 12-20
National Weather Service Headquarters Washington DC
350 PM EDT Tue Mar 4 2012
To: Subscribers:
-Family of Services
-NOAA Weather Wire Service
-Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
-NOAAPort
Other NWS partners and employees
From: Cynthia Abelman Chief, Aviation Services Branch
Subject: Reprioritization of GRIB2 and GRIB1 WAFS Upper Air
Forecasts Transmission Times Effective July 5, 2012
Effective Thursday July 5, 2012, at 1200 Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC), the NWS World Area Forecast Center (WAFC) will
reprioritize the transmission times of the World Area Forecast
System (WAFS) Upper Air Forecasts.
WAFS Upper Air Forecasts are digital forecasts issued in GRIB1
and GRIB2 formats. Currently the GRIB1 formatted forecasts are
issued first, followed by the GRIB2 format of the same digit
forecasts. This results in a 45 minute delay in the transmission
of the GRIB2 version of these forecasts. Starting July 5, 2012,
the order of transmission will be switched: GRIB2 format will be
issued first and GRIB1 format issued second.
NWS plans to stop transmitting the GRIB1 format of WAFS Upper
Air Forecasts in November 2013. This change is intended to
encourage users of WAFS Forecast information to use the GRIB2
format. After this change, GRIB1 users will encounter the 45
minute delay.
In support of the WAFS, the NWS WAFC Washington provides global
gridded forecasts of upper wind and temperature data covering
Flight Levels FL050-530, tropopause heights and temperature, and
maximum wind (height, speed, direction) based on output from the
Global Forecast System Numerical Weather Model. This data can be
used in flight planning systems to optimize flights routes or to
generate a range of charts, such and wind and temperature
charts, cross sections, etc.
The aforementioned gridded products are produced four times
daily, for T+06 to T+36 hour time steps, and are available in
both GRIB1 and GRIB2 formats on the International Satellite
Communications System (ISCS) and the WAFS Internet File System
(WIFS). This change affects the order and times that these
gridded products will be available on both ISCS and WIFS.
There are some differences at the technical encoding level
between GRIB1 and GRIB2. The major differences from the
meteorological and operational perspective between the two
formats are:
- GRIB2 is a regular grid with 1.25 X 1.25 degree (~140KM X 140
KM at the equator) resolution. GRIB1 has the longitudinal
points on the grid thinned as the polar regions are approached.
- GRIB2 bulletins contain data covering the entire globe for
each level and each parameter in each bulletin. GRIB1 has
separate bulletins for each octant of every level/parameter
combination.
- GRIB2 data is compressed using the JPEG2000 standard.
Appropriate JPEG2000 decompression libraries will be necessary.
- GRIB2 has a temporal resolution of 3 hours, from T+06 to T+36
inclusive. GRIB1 has a temporal resolution of 6 hours (T+06 to
T+36 inclusive).
- GRIB2 has additional levels close to the normal cruise of
level of Airliners.
If you have any questions about this change, please contact:
Matt Strahan
Chief, International Operations Branch
Aviation Weather Center/WAFC Washington
Kansas City, MO 64153
816-584-7204
matt.strahan@xxxxxxxx
National Technical Implementation Notices are online at:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/notif.htm
$$
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