VTEC Status

1
VTECStatus Plan for Action

• National Partners Workshop
• June 24, 2004
• Jason Tuell
• Office of Science and Technology

2
Overview

• Objective
• Current status
• Actions since the September Partners conference
• Proposed schedule
• Issues
• Interaction with partners
• Summary

3
Current status

• Software
• Original VTEC implemented in AWIPS OB2 software
• Revised VTEC updated in OB3.1
• Deficiencies corrected in OB3.3
• NWSI 10-1703
• Updated with new specification and clarifications
• Signed 28 May 2004
• IOTE complete

4
Changes since January O4

• Delay implementation of VTEC in Marine Forecasts
  and Warnings
• Offshore waters forecast (OFF), Coastal waters
  forecast (CWF), Near shore waters forecast (NSH),
  Open Lakes Forecast (GLF)
• VTEC still to be implemented in Special Marine
  Warning (SMW), Marine Weather Statements (MWS),
  Coastal Flood Watch, Warnings, and Statements
  (CFW), Lakeshore Flood Warnings and Statements
  (CFW)
• Change in schedule

5
IOTE

• IOTE conducted between 20 Apr through 14 May
• Testers included service area leads, field
  forecasters and one Partner (Marvin Mcinnis)
• 74 TTRs
• 31 Critical
• 20 Major (Urgent)
• 5 Minor (Routine)
• 18 Watch items, potential enhancements, withdrawn
  or other
• 2 CONOPS issues
• 2 New Requirements
• Segmentation of follow up statements
• Head line time rounding requirements
• 19 Headline errors and standardization
• ALL reproducible TTRs, headline errors and
  standardization will be corrected by 28 June
• Segmented follow up statements for short fuse
  warnings will be allowed in OB3.3

6
IOTE
7
Schedule Changes

• Revised schedule (presented January 2004)
• OTE 5 July 30 August
• Turn key on 1 Dec 2004
• Driving force behind schedule changes
• Performance problems in OB3 delayed development
  and testing
• Errors discovered during IOTE
• Service back up and unique OCONUS requirements
• Schedule change will allow
• Correction of IOTE deficiencies
• Implementation of unique OCONUS requirements
• Implementation of robust service back up
  capability
• More coordination between the NWS and partners

8
Schedule
9
ScheduleIssues OTE

• Watch-by-County, VTEC OTE run concurrently
• 20 VTEC sites
• 20 WBC sites
• Evaluation criteria defined in OTE plan
• Use of scripted scenarios for out-of-season
  products
• Majority of long fuse products (winter weather,
  non-precipitation) to be tested using scripted
  scenarios

10
Products with VTEC
11
Locally Generated Products
12
Partner-NWS Interaction

• Robert McLeod
• Chief, Awareness Branch
• Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services

13
Partner Interaction

• Must ensure adequate feedback on VTEC and other
  issues
• Participation in OTE is critical as learned in
  WBC
• Planning and execution
• Draft OTE plan out for review
• VTEC listserve/remailer to disseminate and
  share VTEC related information
• Send comments to NWS.VTEC_at_noaa.gov

14
Summary

• VTEC turn key 8 Feb 2005
• OTE late summer early fall
• Conduct joint OTE to determine whether we are
  jointly ready for VTEC February 2005

Work together to make VTEC a success!