FY08 GIMPAP Project Proposal Title Page (Revised November 5, 2007)

1. FY08 GIMPAP Project Proposal Title Page(Revised November 5, 2007) • Title: Advanced Satellite Application for AWIPS • Project Type: GOES Utilization Proposal • Status: Renewal • Duration: 2 years • Leads: • Jaime Daniels (STAR/SMCD) • Mamoudou Ba and Stephan Smith (NOAA/NWS/MDL Decision Assistance Branch) • Other Participants: • Americo Allegrino (Raytheon Information Solutions) • Michael Churma ((NOAA/NWS/MDL Decision Assistance Branch)

2. 2. Project Summary • Design and develop a prototype pre-storm monitoring/decision assistance tool within the AWIPS D2D environment that… • Utilizes GOES derived products (Lifted Index) that will improve the monitoring of the pre-convective environment • Help improve the situational awareness of forecasters during warning operations that will help them make better decisions in severe weather situations

3. 3. Motivation/Justification • Supports NOAA Mission Goal(s): Weather and Water • NWS/MDL Decision Assistance Branch • Develops and implements a comprehensive suite of decision aid tools in AWIPS that covers the full scope of hydro-meteorological phenomenon and NWS forecaster responsibilities • These tools help monitor and translate the myriad of information available to the forecaster into increased skill and improved NWS performance • Have identified the need for a pre-storm monitoring/decision aid tool within AWIPS environment that: • Utilizes GOES satellite derived products and takes advantage of the spatial and temporal resolution offered by these data • Focuses/prepares a forecaster for a possible warning situation before the onset of convection • Improves the situational awareness of forecasters during warning operations • Helps the NWS prepare for the onslaught of data and products in the GOES-R era

4. 4. Methodology • Define concept for decision aid tool • Use polygon tool to define/outline a “geographic area of interest” (risk area for onset of convection) • Select case study day to use in development and testing of decision aid tool • 06 June 2005 is current case study day • Hourly GOES sounder Derived Product Imagery (DPI) of Lifted Index (LI) • Develop decision aid tool software • Adapt polygon tool to read in GOES LI data within bounds of polygon • Assess LI within polygon at a given time • Monitor temporal changes in LI within polygon • Initiate alert on AWIPS display • All development is done using development and test AWIPS accounts on NWS workstations (at SSMC2) • Via internet access to these workstations from our desktops at the NOAA Science Center where we start and bring up a AWIPS D2D display

5. 5. Summary of Previous Results • FY06 • Improved working knowledge of AWIPS development environment • Selected a case study day (06 June 2005) to use in development of decision aid tool • Retrieved these data from our internal archive and converted hourly GOES sounder Derived Product Imagery (DPI) of Lifted Index (LI) into netCDF format for use in AWIPS • Decision Aid Tool Software Development Activity • Compiled latest working version of AWIPS OB6 in development area • Successful development and integration of a drawing polygon tool that is being used with the D2D display to select a geographic area of interest for pre-storm monitoring • Successful development and testing of software that identifies and reads GOES sounder product data within a user-specified polygon and then calibrates it (ie., convert brightness/grey-shade values to lifted index (oC) values)

6. 5. Summary of Previous Results (cont’d-1) • FY07 • Completed • The polygon tool has been expanded to process multiple satellite DPI lifted index files under AWIPS. Software was added to process pixels within the polygon boundaries. Lifted index statistics can be computed for multiple images using the same area. • A separate monitoring button was added to the code. • AWIPS Build 8.1 was installed and software was successfully re-compiled under new build. • Text message alerts were added to the code. If the number of pixels with LI values less than zero within an area of interest is greater than 50% a test message alert is sent to the AWIPS display. Furthermore, an alert is also issued if the drop in the LI values is greater than 3 degrees over a three hour period. • Work in Progress • Software developed by task personnel is being integrated into a new polygon routine developed by MDL personnel. This new polygon routine is more versatile and includes the ability to read pre-existing polygons

7. 5. Summary of Previous Results (cont’d-2) • FY07 • Work In Progress (cont’d) • Begin effort to handle and manage multiple polygons. Use new polygon routine to display a table of pre-existing polygon areas and have user either select an pre-existing polygon or create a new polygon. • Use monitor button to automatically process future data after an area of interest has been selected. • Add sound to the alerts

8. Tool Concept Use the SPC Convective Outlook to define an area of interest (risk area for severe wx) and use a polygon tool to define/outline this area Automation of tool: Compute change in atmospheric stability (using GOES-derived LI) at each point within the risk area Monitor the temporal change in stability index and identify specific regions within the risk area where the atmosphere is destabilizing Initiate an alert on the AWIPS display when: GOES-LI exceeds some threshold AND its change with time exceeds some threshold Focus/prepare forecaster for possible warning situation before the onset of convection!!

9. Illustration of the polygon tool as well as the alert dialogue box that pops up (in yellow) as an alert to the forecaster. The user-drawn polygon (displayed in green) defines the geographic area over which the atmospheric stability index (lifted index in this case) is monitored.

10. 6. Expected Outcomes • Prototype Pre-monitoring/Decision-aid tool that possesses the following functionality: • Can process pixels (for specified parameter) within user-selected polygon boundaries at a given time • Automated monitoring of pixels (for specified parameter) within user-selected polygon boundaries over time • Can generate a time series display of metrics (mean, percent of pixels in box exceeding defined thresholds, etc) for specified parameter within the user-selected polygon boundaries • Multiple user-selected polygons that cover multiple areas of interest (risk areas for severe weather) • Demonstration of prototype • NWS/MDL and NESDIS • Post-demonstration possibilities: • Alpha testing at select NWS field office site(s)

11. 7. Major Milestones • FY08 • Refine and complete development effort to handle and manage multiple polygons. • Include other severe weather parameters to monitor ( i.e., CAPE, convective inhibition, total precipitable water, etc) and integrate them into the alert decision process • Add the ability to display time series plots of severe weather parameters that are being monitored. • Coordinate alpha-testing of tool at select NWS field-office sites • FY09 • Collect feedback from alpha-testing of tool and generate technical report • Add and/or refine capabilities of tool based on user feedback from alpha-testing

12. 8. Funding Profile (K) • Summary of leveraged funding • None

13. 9. Expected Purchase Items • FY07 • (56K): STAR Software Contractor for 1 people at ~ 0.50 time from Apr 07 07 to Mar 08 • Software development of pre-storm monitoring/decision-aid tool • (1.5K) STAR trip to CIMSS • FY08 • (65K): STAR Software Contractor for 1 people at ~ 0.50 time from Apr 07 08 to Mar 09 • Software development of pre-storm monitoring/decision-aid tool • Trip to CIMSS and/or NWS field-site • (2K) STAR- Trip to CIMSS and/or NWS field-site • FY09 • (65K): STAR Software Contractor for 1 people at ~ 0.50 time from Apr 07 09 to Mar 10 • Software development of pre-storm monitoring/decision-aid tool • Develop technical report of alpha-testing results • Trip to CIMSS and/or NWS field-site • (2K) STAR- Trip to CIMSS and/or NWS field-site