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------- Forwarded Message
I sent the attached National Technical Information Message on AFOS,
NWWS, NWSTG, etc. this aftn. The AFOS PIL used was WSHPNSNMC; WMO
header NOUS41 KWBC. The addition of this line (and therefore the
testing on June 16th) has NO IMPACT on AFOS or NWWS users. Please
distribute this info widely, both within your office and to any other
interested parties.
ZCZC WSHPNSNMC ALL
TTAA00 KWSH DDHHMM
NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION MESSAGE 94-15
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS
235 PM EDT MON MAY 23 1994
TO: USERS OF NWS PRODUCTS RECEIVED FROM THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE TELECOMMUNICATION GATEWAY
FROM: MARY C. NEWTON
ACTING CHIEF, SERVICES DEVELOPMENT BRANCH
SUBJECT: CHANGES IN FORMAT FOR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
PRODUCTS
REFERENCE: NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION MESSAGE 94-09,
DATED APRIL 20, 1994
(THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED BY HOWARD DIAMOND, OFFICE
OF SYSTEMS OPERATIONS)
NOTE TO AFOS AND NWWS USERS: THE FOLLOWING NOTICE WILL HAVE NO
IMPACT TO EITHER NWS AFOS OFFICES OR TO NWWS USERS.
As delineated in National Technical Information Message 94-09,
the modernization activities of the National Weather Service
(NWS) require certain changes in the format of some messages
which are transmitted from the NWS communications system.
On June 16, 1994, a 6-hour test, from 1100 hours UTC until
1700 hours UTC, will be conducted to test the format change of
the addition of a second line of text (NNNXXX) to selected NWS
field-generated text products. The NWS encourages each user of
the affected NWS TEXT PRODUCTS to review any software
applications which they may use to process, decode, and/or data
base NWS text products to determine if the addition of this new
second line will require any software modifications.
If you experience any data problems and/or questions as a result
of the June 16th test, please contact Al Mongeon, Systems
Operation Center, Central Communications Software Branch, at
(301) 713-0877, or via e-mail at the following address:
amongeon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If the June 16th test is successful, this format change will be
implemented on July 18, 1994, at 1100 UTC for the selected
text products originated by NWS forecast and warning offices.
To reiterate the information in the original April 20th notice,
this extra line of text is being inserted to aid the NWS in the
planned transition from AFOS to AWIPS and will not affect how
products are transmitted. The information in this notice is
being provided merely to inform users of a format change that
will begin appearing in these selected text products. Unless
these text products are read by software applications, there
should be no impact on users.
The set of affected text products are those generated by NWS
field offices in the continental United States and Puerto Rico,
and include, but are not limited to: SIGMETS and AIRMETS;
agricultural, local area, public, short-term, travelers, and zone
forecast products; watches, warnings, advisories, and special
weather statements; local storm products, road condition and
recreational reports; radar observation and narrative products;
and climatological, fire weather, hydrological, and marine
products.
Text products from NWS field offices in Alaska and the Pacific,
and bulletinized TEXT products, such as SAOs, Winds Aloft (FDs),
TAFs and FTs, upper air products, ship reports, synoptic
products, and centrally-produced guidance products from NMC (such
as the MOS guidance), or any coded, GRIB, FOUS, or BUFR products,
are NOT affected by this change.
DESCRIPTION OF NNNXXX LINE AND EXAMPLE:
This additional line will take the form of NNNXXX. The NNN is an
internal NWS product category code, and the XXX is a product
designator code. The new line will be automatically inserted by
the NWS Telecommunication Gateway (NWSTG) upon receipt of
selected TEXT PRODUCTS originating at most NWS field offices.
The new line will not be used for those data in WMO code forms
which require that the form MiMiMjMj be part of the first line of
coded text.
The first group or product category code (NNN) will be a three
letter acronym designating the data type of the product in a more
detailed way than that of the WMO abbreviated heading. The NNN
is always three characters, but any of the characters may be
numeric. The second group or product designator code (or XXX)
will be one, two, or three alphanumeric characters to provide
greater geographic specificity beyond that indicated by the WMO
abbreviated heading.
An example of the NNNXXX and its associated WMO abbreviated
heading (the two lines together are now termed the AWIPS
identifier) would be:
FEUS44 KSFO 031215 (WMO abbreviated heading)
LFPBFL (New second line of text)
where: LFP is the internal NWS product category code designating
a local forecast product, and BFL is the product designator code
which identifies the product as being prepared for the
Bakersfield, California, area by the NWS forecast office in San
Francisco, California, (that is identified by the KSFO designator
in the first line of the WMO abbreviated heading).
------- End of Forwarded Message
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