Question

• Describe the role of the "World Meteorological Organization (WMO)"

• Where is all of the data collected by the "WMO" transmitted to and managed? How is the data used?

• Explain the difference between a "watch" and a "Warning".

• What is the communication system used by the National Weather Service to make data and charts available to forecasters?

• How do the use of "meteograms" and "Soundings" aid in forecasting weather on the "local" scale?

• What are the similarities and differences in "geostationary satellites" and "polar orbiting satellites"?

• Name three weather monitoring satellites and briefly describe what they do.

• Go to http://weather.unisys.com/ and find the various "forecasting models" for predicting weather on the left hand side. Very briefly describe what each one (model) will tell you.

• Briefly describe the differences between short, medium and long range forecasts.

Answer 1

Answering first four parts only:

1. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations, to facilitate worldwide cooperation in the establishment of networks of stations for the making of meteorological observations as well as hydrological and other geophysical observations related to meteorology, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of centres charged with the provision of meteorological and related services. Its roles are:-

To Promote the establishment and maintenance of systems for the rapid exchange of meteorological and related information;

Promote standardization of meteorological and related observations and to ensure the uniform publication of observations and statistics;

To encourage research and training in meteorology and, as appropriate, in related fields, and to assist in coordinating the international aspects of such research and training.

Application of meteorology to aviation, shipping, water problems, agriculture and other human activities;

To promote activities in operational hydrology and to further close cooperation between Meteorological and Hydrological Services;

2. Observational data, information and derived products are freely exchanged in real-time or near real-time between WMO centres and national meteorological and hydrological services of Members around the world. Powerful computers in WMO centres worldwide process the data collected from tens of thousands of land and sea observation instruments and Earth-observing satellites. These data are used in numerical models based on physical laws to produce weather, climate and water-related forecasts, predictions, and information products and services for use in daily lives, long-term decision-making and research.Built on the Global Telecommunication System of the WMO World Weather Watch, the WMO Information System (WIS) provides routine collection and automated dissemination of observed weather, climate and water-related data and products, as well as information discovery, access and retrieval services. In addition to the sharing of operational and time-critical information in accordance with the policy of information providers, the WMO Information System (WIS) facilitates the free and unrestricted access to data and information products and services on matters relating to safety and security of society, economic welfare and the protection of the environment.

3. The term WATCH means that the potential exists for the development of severe thunderstorms or tornadoes, depending upon the specific type of watch issued. In the case of a tornado watch, this DOES NOT mean that a tornado has been seen or even indicated on radar...it just means that conditions are favorable for the formation of tornadoes in thunderstorms. Similarly, a severe thunderstorm watch means that conditions are just conducive for the development of severe weather, and DOES NOT indicate that severe weather has been reported. While no immediate action on the part of the general public is required for the issuance of a watch, citizens should keep up to date on the current weather situation and be prepared to seek shelter if necessary.

A WARNING, on the other hand, requires more immediate action and should be taken seriously. A severe thunderstorm warning indicates that severe weather is imminent in your area or is already occurring (based on either human observation or doppler radar). The term severe refers to hail greater than or equal to 1.00" in diameter and/or wind gusts that meet or exceed 58 mph. Although these storms can also be associated with dangerous cloud to ground lightning or heavy rainfall that is capable of causing flash flooding, neither of these two items serve as criteria for a severe thunderstorm warning being issued.

4. NOAAPORT is a one-way broadcast communication system which provides NOAA environmental data and information in near real-time to NOAA and external users. This broadcast service is implemented by a commercial provider of satellite communications utilizing C band. The agency's online service, Weather.gov, is a data rich website operated by the NWS that serves as a portal to hundreds of thousands of web pages and more than 300 different NWS websites. Through its homepage, users can access local forecasts by entering a place name in the main forecast search bar, view a rapidly updated map of active watches and warnings, and select areas related to graphical forecasts, national maps, radar displays, river and air quality data, satellite images and climate information. Also offered are XML data feeds of active watches and warnings, ASOS observations and digital forecasts for 5x5 kilometer grids. All of NWS local weather forecast offices operate their own region-tailored web pages, which provide access to current products and other information specific to the office's local area of responsibility. Weather.gov superseded the Interactive Weather Information Network (IWIN), the agency's early internet service which provided NWS data from the 1990s through the mid-2000s. Since 1983, the NWS has provided external user access to weather information obtained by or derived from the U.S. Government through a collection of data communication line services called the Family of Services (FOS), which is accessible via dedicated telecommunications access lines in the Washington, D.C., area. All FOS data services are driven by the NWS Telecommunication Gateway computer systems located at NWS headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Users may obtain any of the individual services from NWS for a one-time connection charge and an annual user fee.