# Presentation: 423185

## XML Services and Needs in NOAA’s National Weather Service 

- Ron Jones
- NOAA’s National Weather Service
- Office of the CIO

## What is XML?

- e_X_tensible _M_arkup _L_anguage is a widely used system for defining data formats.
- provides a very rich system to define complex documents and data structures
- as long as a programmer has the XML definition for a collection of data (often called a "schema"), they can create a program to reliably process any data formatted according to those rules.

## Why Should We Use XML?

- Accepted standard format
- The E-Government Act of 2002
- Promotes innovative uses of IT, particularly initiatives involving multi-agency collaboration
- Explicitly mentions “Extensible Markup Language”
- Interoperability of data, free of presentation requirements

## How Is The NWS Using XML?

- Severe Weather Watches and Warnings
- Tropical Cyclone Advisories
- Storm Prediction Center Forecast Products
- Forecasts
- Hourly Observations

## Severe Weather Warnings via XML

- Uses an industry standard schema (Common Alerting Protocol - CAP)
- Text watches and warnings are parsed to CAP tags
- Updated every 60 to 90 seconds
- Easily used by programmers to display severe weather information across the US, by state, or by county

## Severe Weather Warnings, Tropical Weather Updates, Storm Prediction Center Products via XML

- All use an established XML format called RSS (Real Simple Syndication)
- Allow NWS content to be displayed on other sites
- Allow users to view NWS headlines for items of interest

## Slide 8

## Current Weather Observations

- No WMO or Federal standard XML schema currently exists
- US METAR observations processed
- Simple schema lowers the bar to entry into data via XML

## Hourly Weather Observations

## Slide 11

## Future of XML

- Without established standard element tags, programmers will still have to write code to parse multiple tags for same data elements
- Expand use of XML from basic weather reports to include all weather message formats
- Text messages originate in XML and are parsed based on intended use or audience rather than XML derived from text

## Standard XML Elements

- Common elements in WMO weather codes = common XML tags
- Temperature tags should be common across all WMO codes (surface, uper air, forecasts, etc)
- Meta data included in XML increases value of data
- Station data (lat/long, elevation, etc)
- Reporting units (Metric/English/etc)
- Benefit to users – no longer to they have to learn multiple WMO codes for weather messages

## Originate Products As XML

- XML format –
- Text formatted message (traditional)
- Proper case for pubic use
- NOAA Weather Radio
- Headlines/RSS feeds
- Variety of languages
- Build Web page components (both internal and external)
- Build SMS Versions (Wireless Text Messages)
- Ingest into databases
- Convert into shape files
- Converted from text to speech

## Benefits of XML

- e_X_cellent _M_achine _L_anguage!
- XML formats are standardized so programmers spend less time attempting to understand them
- XML parsers (commercial and free) are widely available in most computer languages
- Weather data more open and usable

## For More Information

- Robert Bunge
- _[robert.bunge@noaa.gov](mailto:Robert.bunge@noaa.gov)_
- (301) 713-1381 x140
- Ron Jones
- _[ronald.c.jones@noaa.gov](mailto:ronald.c.jones@noaa.gov)_
- (301) 713-1381 x130