NOUS41 KWBC 171230
PNSWSH
TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICE 08-97
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON DC
730 AM EST WED DEC 17 2008
TO: SUBSCRIBERS:
-FAMILY OF SERVICES
-NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
-EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK
OTHER NWS PARTNERS...AND NWS EMPLOYEES
FROM: KEVIN SCHRAB
CHIEF... OBSERVING SERVICES DIVISION
OFFICE OF CLIMATE WATER AND WEATHER SERVICES
SUBJECT: CALENDAR YEAR 2009 IMPLEMENTATION OF RADIOSONDE
REPLACEMENT SYSTEM /RRS/ WITH TERMINATION OF OPERATIONS
OF RADIOTHEODOLITE TRACKING /ART/ AND RADIO DIRECTION
FINDING RADIOSONDES /RDF/
NWS WILL CONVERT 14 UPPER AIR /UA/ SITES TO RRS TECHNOLOGY IN 2009.
THE FIRST SITE ON THIS SCHEDULE IS OAKLAND CALIFORNIA ON
FEBRUARY 2 2009. FOUR SITES IN ALASKA CONCLUDE THIS RRS SCHEDULE.
SID STATION NAME OUTAGE DATES
72493 OAKLAND CA 30 JAN 2009
72250 BROWNSVILLE TX 19 FEB 2009
72597 MEDFORD OR 05 MAR 2009
72456 TOPEKA KS 26 MAR 2009
74494 CHATHAM MA 16 APR 2009
72632 WHITE LAKE MI 30 APR 2009
72747 INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN 14 MAY 2009
72520 PITTBURGH PA 28 MAY 2009
72501 UPTON NY 11 JUN 2009
72518 ALBANY NY 09 JUL 2009
70200 NOME AK 23 JUL 2009
70261 FAIRBANKS AK 06 AUG 2009
70361 YAKUTAT AK 20 AUG 2009
70398 ANNETTE AK 04 SEP 2009
EACH UPPER AIR SITE WILL BE OUT OF SERVICE FOR ABOUT 10 DAYS. WHEN NWS
UA OBSERVATIONS RESUME THE RRS WILL BE GATHERING METEOROLOGICAL DATA
FROM GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM /GPS/ RADIOSONDES.
THE NWS DESCRIBES THE RRS RELEASE POINT LOCATION WITH THE NATIONAL
GEODETIC SURVEY /NGS/ OPUS SOLUTION. THIS IS A DATUM COMBINATION THAT
RELIES ON NORTH AMERICAN DATUM OF 1983 /NAD83/ FOR LATITUDE AND
LONGITUDE WHEREAS THE RELEASE POINT ELEVATION IS BASED ON NORTH AMERICAN
VERTICAL DATUM 1988 /NAVD88/ WITH THE GEOID03 MODEL. BY CONTRAST THE
GPS RADIOSONDE FLIGHT INFORMATION OF LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE AND ALTITUDE
WILL RELY ON THE WORLD GEODETIC SYSTEM 1984 /WGS84/ STANDARD.
BE ADVISED WITH RRS CONVERSION PARTS OF THE UPPER AIR CODED MESSAGES
WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER. NWS HAS COORDINATED WITH ITS PARTNERS ON
THE LONGER LENGTH OF THESE MESSAGES.
THE FORMAT OF THE MESSAGES WILL BE THE SAME WMO FORMAT FOR CODED
UPPER AIR MESSAGES USED WITH THE MICROART LEGACY SYSTEM. THE
NUMBER OF LEVELS IN THE CODED MESSAGES WILL BE TWO TO THREE
TIMES GREATER FOR THE TTBB AND TTDD. AS A RESULT TWO CATEGORIES
OF AWIPS TEXT PRODUCTS WILL INCREASE IN SIZE: SGL AND ABV. THE
NUMBER OF LEVELS IN THE TTAA...TTCC...PPBB AND PPDD PARTS WILL BE
RELATIVELY UNCHANGED. THESE CHANGES REFLECT UPDATED CODING
PRACTICES AND HIGHER RESOLUTION LEVEL SELECTION CRITERIA. THE
MAXIMUM SIZE LIMITS OF THE PARTS OF THE CODED MESSAGES ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
TTAA: 15 LEVELS
TTCC: 10 LEVELS
TTBB: 135 LEVELS
TTDD: 40 LEVELS
PPBB: 40 LEVELS
PPDD: 40 LEVELS
IN ADDITION THE 31313 MESSAGE INDICATOR ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS
PARTS OF THE MESSAGE WILL BE INCLUDED WITH EACH PART OF THE
THERMODYNAMIC MESSAGE PARTS.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE MESSAGE REQUIREMENTS...REFERENCE WMO
306: MANUAL ON CODES: INTERNATIONAL CODES: VOLUME 1.1 PART A-
ALPHANUMERIC CODES AND WMO 306: MANUAL ON CODES: REGIONAL CODES AND
NATIONAL CODING PRACTICES: VOLUME II. USERS CAN FIND INFORMATION ON THE
LEVELS SELECTION CRITERIA USED IN NWS CODING SOFTWARE ONLINE AT
/USE LOWERCASE LETTERS/:
HTTP://WWW.UA.NWS.NOAA.GOV
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK...PLEASE CONTACT:
DOMINIC BOSCO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE / OPS11
1325 EAST WEST HIGHWAY
SILVER SPRING MARYLAND 20910
301-713-1841 EXT. 123
DOMINIC.BOSCO@xxxxxxxx
NWS NATIONAL TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICES ARE ONLINE AT
/USE LOWER CASE/:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/OS/NOTIF.HTM
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