National Weather ServiceNational Weather ServiceCentral Computer System

Backup System

Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, USAF (Ret.)Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, USAF (Ret.)National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Assistant Administrator for Weather ServicesAssistant Administrator for Weather Services

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Agenda

• NWS Overview• Central Computer Backup System Description• System Milestones• System Operational Uses• System Development Uses

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NWS Overview

• Provide climate, water, weather forecasts and warnings to protect life and property and enhance the economy

• Data and products are used by other government agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community.

A Typical Year Brings:A Typical Year Brings: ­ 7 Hurricanes7 Hurricanes­ 1,000 Tornadoes1,000 Tornadoes­ 5,000 Floods5,000 Floods­ 10,000 Violent Thunderstorms10,000 Violent Thunderstorms­ Drought ConditionsDrought Conditions­ 500 Deaths; 5,000 Injuries; 500 Deaths; 5,000 Injuries;

$14 Billion in Losses$14 Billion in Losses

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NWS Overview Facilities

13 River 13 River Forecast Forecast CentersCenters

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NWS Overview Facilities

122 Weather Forecast Offices

9NationalCenters

6Regions

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NWS Overview National Centers for Environmental Prediction

CE

N T RA

L

HydrometeorologicalPrediction Center

Storm PredictionCenter

Aviation WeatherCenter

Tropical PredictionCenter

Ocean PredictionCenter

Climate PredictionCenter

Space EnvironmentCenter

EnvironmentalModelingCenter

PO

ER A T I

ONS

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Research, Development and Technology Infusion

Respond & Feedback

IBM Supercomputer at Gaithersburg, MD Computer Center

Feedback

Distribute

LocalOffices

CentralGuidance

Process

Observe

Products & Forecast Services

NWS Overview

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Research, Development and Technology Infusion

Respond & Feedback

IBM Supercomputer Backup at Fairmont, WV

Feedback

Distribute

LocalOffices

CentralGuidanceProcess

Observe

Products & Forecast Services

NWS OverviewCritical backup

of “process” step

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System Description

• Large high performance computing system that mirrors and backs up a primary system in Gaithersburg, MD

• Comprised of IBM equipment­ 176 Power-4 Regatta H+ nodes

160 compute nodes, 16 server nodes 8 processors per node (1.7 Gigahertz clock speed) 16 Gigabyte (GB) memory per node

­ Copper based Colony interconnect

­ 22.5 Terabyte disk storage

­ 1 Petabyte tape storage

­ Theoretical peak power 8.7 Teraflops

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• In top 10 worldwide for weather supercomputers• Uses scalar computing model comprised of a large

number of commodity processors• Balanced system in terms of node, interconnect &

input/output performance

Disk I/O – 1.3 GB/s

Node/Processor – 4.0 GB/s

Interconnect– 1.5 GB/sGB/s

System Description

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System Milestones

Milestone Date

System Installation Complete 8/25/04 – completed

Acceptance Testing Complete 9/22/04 – completed

System Customization Complete 10/6/04 – in progress

Production Readiness Test Complete 12/22/04

Full Operational Capability Reached 12/22/04

CCS Backup Activated 1/18/05

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System Operational Uses

• Executes large scale computer models to predict the state of the atmosphere from hours to months in advance­ Output­of­models­is­called­model­guidance­ Over­the­U.S.,­these­models­divide­the­atmosphere­into­a­three­dimensional­grid­comprised­of­12km­squares,­split­into­60­levels,­from­the­surface­up­to­about­10,000­meters

­ Over­the­entire­globe,­these­models­divide­the­atmosphere­into­a­three­dimensional­grid­comprised­of­55km­squares,­split­into­64­levels,­from­the­surface­up­to­about­10,000­meters

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System Operational Uses

Reliability is Key

Support for Defense and Homeland Security

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System Operational Uses GFS model guidance for location of Hurricane Jeanne for

September 26, 2004

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System Operational Uses GFS model guidance for location of Hurricane Jeanne for

September 26, 2004

Location of low (Jeanne) in model guidance issued 30 hours in advance of landfall

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Actual location of Hurricane Jeanne on September 26, 2004

System Operational Uses

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Actual location of Hurricane Jeanne on September 26, 2004

System Operational Uses

Actual location of low (Jeanne)

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System Operational Uses

GFS model guidance for 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004

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System Operational Uses

GFS model guidance for 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004

Precipitation concentration in model guidance issued 48 hours in advance indicates 125mm of rainfall

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System Operational Uses

Actual 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004

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System Operational Uses

Actual 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004

Actual precipitation concentration of 120mm of rainfall

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System Operational Uses

GFS model guidance for 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004

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System Operational Uses

GFS model guidance for 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004

Location and intensity of high speed winds (jet stream) in model guidance issued 72 hours in advance

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System Operational Uses

Actual 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004

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System Operational Uses

Actual 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004

Actual location and intensity of high speed winds (jet stream)

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System Operational Uses

Wave Watch model guidance for September 30, 2004

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System Operational Uses

Wave Watch model guidance for September 30, 2004

Significant wave heights of 16 to 18 feet in model guidance issued 12 hours in advance

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System Operational Uses

Actual wave heights for September 30, 2004

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System Operational Uses

Actual wave heights for September 30, 2004

Significant wave heights of 16 to 18 feet

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System Development Uses

• Taxpayers are Getting their Money’s Worth

• Support NOAA Research & Development

­ Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation

­ Operational Numerical Test Bed

­ Seasonal Climate Research & Development

Accelerate Transition from R&D to Operations

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Fairmont West Virginia

An Important Part of the NWS Team!