Staying ahead of the storm

When Mother Nature lashes out, meteorologists – armed with cutting-edge forecasting and monitoring tools – are the first line of defense against loss of life and property. This year, they’ve had their hands full. Flooding, large hail, wildfires and tornadoes have dominated headlines and social media. And for those who lose property or loved ones, severe weather is much more than an inconvenience.

A new Raytheon-developed data processing system is helping meteorologists predict with ever-improving accuracy when and where severe weather will occur. That technology, called AWIPS II, is the second iteration of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System. It helps the National Weather Service (NWS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issue forecasts, watches and warnings hours or even days before storms cross the horizon.

While checking the weather on smartphones, websites and TV has never been easier, NWS meteorologists use a complex process to gather and analyze the steady and growing stream of weather data.

“Meteorologists have countless sources of data to consider when making forecasts,” said Brad Scalio, a meteorologist and chief engineer for Raytheon’s AWIPS program. “Temperature, wind speed and air pressure are familiar to most people, but detailed radar data, infrared satellite images and hydrological river data can be just as important depending on the situation.”

AWIPS analyzes data from a variety of sources, such as satellites, ground stations, maritime buoys, weather balloons and airplanes. Raytheon is also a source of that data, with its Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite – a primary sensor on NOAA and NASA’s Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership satellite and future Joint Polar Satellite System spacecraft. The company’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System processes NASA’s earth-science data and makes it available to the world.

In the past, aggregating and analyzing weather data was manual and labor intensive. That all changed after AWIPS appeared in 1998. Forecasters at 144 NWS offices nationwide use the system’s hardware and software to monitor, organize, visualize and distribute weather data from thousands of sensors and sources; view high-detail charts, graphs and maps and issue weather forecasts, watches and warnings.

As the first-generation AWIPS core software approaches obsolescence, the amount of weather data it processes is increasing exponentially. To meet the ever-growing demands of modern forecasters, Raytheon is deploying AWIPS II, the next-generation software upgrade with powerful new capabilities that help meteorologists deliver faster, more precise forecasts.

Big Data, big new capabilities

“The new AWIPS II automatically aggregates an enormous amount of weather data so the forecaster can focus on getting those familiar weather warnings up on your television faster,” said Andre Tarro, Raytheon AWIPS program manager.

During severe weather outbreaks, speed and accuracy save lives. To simplify the process of analyzing and understanding the massive amount of weather data available to forecasters, AWIPS II includes video game-like visualization technology. Familiar maps are upgraded to extremely high resolution and combined with hundreds of optional information layers, helping forecasters make accurate, detailed predictions in a fraction of the time previously required.

When a forecaster identifies a threatening situation, AWIPS II can automatically generate draft watches, warnings and emergency statements from built-in templates, while forecasters analyze data and monitor the situation. AWIPS II also includes thin-client technology that enables NWS forecasters to use the system on a laptop and support emergency management officials from almost any location. Fire weather meteorologists working in remote locations can access the same AWIPS II tools as forecasters monitoring how the weather might affect the Super Bowl.

“Not every outdoor weather event faces a weather emergency,” Scalio said. “But being able to forecast if rain is going to postpone your baseball game is good.”

Beyond weather

Built as an open-source software platform, AWIPS II can be continuously improved and adapted for new uses. This architecture will allow government and academic weather, climate and water researchers to add analytic capabilities to the system. For example, AWIPS II has been extended to support space weather visualization capabilities that help determine how events like solar flares affect communications systems, power grids, GPS and other satellite systems.

And AWIPS II technology is being used to keep tabs on more than the skies. The open-source software architecture underpinning the system was used by the Consortium of Ocean Leadership in support of a National Science Foundation and NOAA mission creating the world’s first underwater volcano observatory. The April 2015 eruption of the Axial volcano off the coast of the Pacific Northwest created unprecedented new data on underwater volcanoes. Sensor and instrument data was sent and processed by a Raytheon-built system, helping researchers observe and accurately analyze the eruption.

Saving lives

Shelters and sirens can protect people from severe weather events when they occur, but the most effective defense against weather-related loss of life and property is advance warning and knowing how to react. AWIPS II will arm NWS forecasters with the cutting-edge tools and analytic capabilities they need to help people stay one step ahead of Mother Nature well into the future.

“If you know a storm is coming ahead of time,” Tarro said, “chances are good that a Raytheon-backed weather data processing system helped make that forecast.”

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