# Presentation: 614743

## Internet Mapping Services for the National Weather Service

- Internet Mapping Service
-  Integrated Work Team
- March 27, 2003

## IMS Team

- Ira Graffman, OST
- Steve King, WR
- Donna Page, OHD
- Wendy Pearson, CR

- Frank Richards, OCWWS
- Dave Ruth, OST
- Jack Settelmaier, SR
- Bruce Webster, NCEP

- Team chartered August 2002 by Barry West and Gary Carter
- Bob Bunge, CIO [co-chair]
- Ken Waters, PR [co-chair]

## Key Terms

- Geographic Information System (GIS)
- Software, hardware, data, and personnel used to manipulate, analyze, and present information tied to a spatial location
- Internet Mapping
- Geo-referenced information made available on the World Wide Web via an Internet Map Server (IMS)

## Background

- Water Resources Internet Mapping (WRIM) Team (Sep 01 – Jun 02)
- Prior S&T Committee actions - 2 of 3 adopted
- Experimental use of ArcIMS on cooperating Regional/HQ web farms until a full implementation plan is developed. (ongoing)
- NWS-wide team to examine full implementation issues. (IMS team)
- ArcIMS be the NWS IMS standard. (deferred)

## Looking Forward

- Serving NDFD information to the public and partners
- Delivering critical weather and hydrology data to emergency managers
- Severe weather reports, live watches/warnings
- Radar, satellite, model grids...
-            **ALL in GIS-ready format!**

## “Customer Pyramid”

## IMS is Requirements-Driven

- Draft NWS Strategic Plan for 2003-2008 Goal #3
- Serve Society’s Needs for Weather and Water Information
- NRC report:
**	**
- Federal Consulting Group/Claes Fornell International Group’s Survey for the NWS
- Emergency managers (479 respondents)
- 8.5 on 10 point scale would use GIS information from the NWS

**“****NWS should make its observational data, models, and other products available in ****Internet-accessible digital form****...the information should be stored in a ****standard format**** that can be accessed by the public and used by all those involved in the weather and climate enterprise.”**

## IMS Benefits

- NWS’ 21st century delivery of weather data
- Consistent with NRC report (and NOAA’s GeoSpatial Data and Climate Services (GDCS))
- Allies NWS with NOAA agencies moving to online GIS (NOAA Enterprise GIS working group)
- Many customers will benefit (emergency managers, disaster relief agencies, homeland security, land management agencies, general public, etc.)

## More IMS Benefits

- IMS database can serve as a more complete dissemination interface for NWS data
- NDFD
- Radar Data
- Satellite Data
- Hydrologic Data
- Watches/Warnings

## Prototype Proposal

- Develop live IMS (geared towards emergency managers)
- Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico Tropical Cyclone track forecasts
- Precipitation and stream gauge observations/forecasts
- Storm surge information
- Weather and flood watches/warnings
- Allows for interactive display with layers such as roads, cities, county borders, shelters, etc.

## Prototype Timeline

- Apr 03: Define contractor statement of work
- May 03: Hire contractor
- Jun 03: IMS development
- Jul - Nov 03: Conduct Prototype
- Dec 03: Evaluation
- Jan 04: Prototype Assessment Report

## Prototype Success Criteria

- EM Documented Feedback on Service Improvement
- Demonstrate Ability to Collect, Decode, and Share Broad Spectrum of NWS Data
- Measure/Monitor/Assess IMS Usage
- Server and Database Needs
- Peak Usage Stability

## Prototype Implementation Requirements

- Software
- ESRI ArcIMS 4.0.1 – $8K
- Hardware
- Use existing Linux platforms
- Other tools  - $2K
- Communications
- Use existing NWSnet telecommunications to move data to participating web farms
- Contractor support (“Glue”)
- $65K
- User interface development, coordination, maintenance

## Alternatives to ArcIMS

- Other commercial mapping programs
- Lack ESRI’s market share, support, and product customization  (reference WRIM Team report, 2002)
- Open Source IMS
- Exciting new technology, but requires substantially more human resources for training and development
- Emergency Management Data System (EMDS)
- Experimental software written by FSL, no longer supported
- Lacks easy integration with common GIS formats

## Recommendations

- Endorse Use of ArcIMS across NWS
- STIP Inclusion
- Fund Prototype
- FY03: ~$75K
- Identify Steering Committee
- OS&T Lead and Oversight

## Let’s Look Forward!!

- Serving NDFD information to the public and partners
- Delivering critical weather and hydrology data to emergency managers
- Severe weather reports, live watches/warnings
- Radar, satellite, model grids...
-            **ALL in GIS-ready format!**