Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) is a technologically-advanced information processing, display, and telecommunications system that is the cornerstone of the United States National Weather Service's (NWS) operations. AWIPS is an interactive computer system that integrates meteorological and hydrological data, enabling forecasters to prepare forecasts and issue warnings. It includes a full suite of satellite imagery, radar data, surface observations, and numerical model guidance. AWIPS replaced the Automation of Field Operations and Services (AFOS) system which had become obsolete and was very difficult to maintain.

The primary tool used in AWIPS is D2D (Display Two Dimensions), a graphical software application that incorporates most available weather information into an easy-to-use interface. Graphical forecasts that NWS forecasters issue to form the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) are composed with the Graphical Forecast Editor (GFE), another independent software application running on AWIPS, developed by the Earth System Research Laboratory (formerly the Forecast Systems Laboratory). AWIPS was one of the first federal mission critical systems to adopt the open source Linux operating system.

AWIPS was originally developed and maintained by PRC, Inc (later acquired by Northrop Grumman Information Technology) with installation completed in 1998. In August 2005, the National Weather Service awarded the new maintenance and operation contract of AWIPS to Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC. It is a five year contract with five one-year award terms for a potential maximum 10 year contract.

Raytheon is currently in the process of developing "AWIPS II," a major revision of the system to restructure it into a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). AWIPS II will begin roll-out in 2010.

[edit] References

• Ferris, Nancy (2000). "Advanced Weather System", Government Executive.