# Presentation: 128105

## Keith Stellman
National Weather Service
Southern Region HQ

- National Weather Service
- Southern Region HQ

**RIDGE – The New National Weather Service Radar Webpages**

## RIDGE Background

RIDGE Examples 

RIDGE Future

**RIDGE Examples **
**RIDGE Future**

**RIDGE **
**(****R****adar ****I****ntegrated ****D****isplay with ****G****eospatial ****E****lements)**

**Notes:**
What I intend to cover is the information flow into the NWS and on to our customer base.

The local mission delivery design of the NWS has allowed the WFOs, RFCs, and CWSUs to thrive with effectiveness and improve performance.  As services continue to be enhanced the value of our performance and benefits can only further improve.

## New NWS GIS Radar Webpages	

**Available as time loops for **_**ALL**_** Weather Service Radars **** **
**Radar images and warnings are GIS ready**
**Adds NWS warnings to the display**
**Calculate distance from a storm and determine Latitude/Longitude**
**Provides real time radar reflectivity, precipitation and now, *****velocity***** data!**

**www.srh.weather.gov/ridge**

## Current displays are:
Showing their age
Difficult to update (especially the roads)
Have not been updated in over four years
Technical issues
TOC over capacity has degraded timeliness
Some products not produced during high load periods
Architecture has several single points of failure

- Showing their age
- Difficult to update (especially the roads)
- Have not been updated in over four years
- Technical issues
- TOC over capacity has degraded timeliness
- Some products not produced during high load periods
- Architecture has several single points of failure

- Radar Background

## Radar Background

- Current web radar displays are:
- Critical to NWS mission
- Used by EM's, local govts, Mets and other professionals
- Used by individuals to make important decisions
- Very popular
- During landfall hurricane, radar pages account for 40-50% of web traffic
- Ex: 172,620,000 individual users in Sept 2004
- Account for 20-40% of traffic on “normal” days

## RIDGE

- Ridge
- Based on software from North Texas Council of Goverments
- User interface changes based on ad-hoc user comments
- Focus on GIS
- First test started February 2004
- Early version was replaced in Spring 2005 with layered GIS approach.

## Customer feedback

- Comment period opened from May 23 to September 5, 2005
- Nearly 24,000 comments received
- Many technical comments used to tweak the user interface, greatly improving the displays
- Users overwhelming supported and enjoy the displays
- 75 percent said they use the service once or more per day

## Customer Feedback

## Customer Feedback

## RIDGE (What’s Involved)

- Receipt and organization of files from NOAA Port
- Decoding radar products
- Exporting to transparent GIF (with World File)
- Web page design (toggles, loops and zooms, 508 compliant)
- Background/overlays
- Create polygon overlay (Transparent GIF)

## How do you use the website?

**Step 1: **
**Distance and **
**location of left **
**mouse click **
**from the radar**

**Step 2: **
**Move your mouse**
**to determine how **
**far away you are**
**from where **
**you clicked**

## How do you use the website?

**Change the **
**product without **
**changing webpages:**
**CR,SRM,V,OHP,**
**and STP.**

**Toggle on and **
**off the various **
**types of overlays. **
**This methodology **
**will allow us to **
**add more **
**references.**

## Why GIS?

***Katrina radar data displaced to give Texas DEM a***
*** ******feel for the scope of what they may be facing***

***Rita data from HGX used to create real-time impacts that were***
***given to folks in charge of first responders***

- Images can be quickly and easily ingested into a GIS system (desktop GIS, IMS, etc.) for multiple needs
- Layers (overlays) can be added and/or changed easily
- Layers can be updated/maintained by the local NWS offices

## What does the future hold?

***ET and VIL***

- Products Live Now
- CR, N0R, N0Z, SRM,V,OHP, and STP
- Products that can be decoded but are awaiting resources
- Base Reflectivity 1.50, 2.50, 3.50Base Velocity 1.50ETSRM 1.50, 2.50, 3.50VILLRM Low, Mid, HighTHP

***Coming Soon!***
***National and Regional ***
***Composites***

## RIDGE Future	

- Will become operational January 2006
- Old radar hits will be redirected to RIDGE
- Modifications made in phases to avoid daily changes
- Conversion to php, additional products, etc.
- Team will remain intact and project becomes a line item

**Questions?**
**Keith.Stellman@noaa.gov**
**Paul.Kirkwood@noaa.gov**
**(817) 978-1100 **

**Notes:**
Take Questions