The National Weather Service has entered the era of graphical forecasts! If you take a look at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/ifps/sju/GFE/ you will see what I mean. You will be able to find them regularly on our home page under Graphical Forecasts in the left margin. Although graphical forecast images have been around a while, these detailed images are created by your local NWS meteorologists. What is even more exciting is that these images are merely representations of a digital database containing forecast weather elements at "gridpoints" separated by less than 1 mile. Having such high-resolution forecast data in digital, "gridded" format opens up a world of possibilities for our customers who have more sophisticated weather data needs.

The images on our web page are created by the meteorologists in the NWS office in San Juan using a new software package called the Interactive Forecast Preparation System (IFPS). With this software, our meteorologists no longer spend time typing the words of the forecast. Instead, they use the extensive process of interacting with graphical depictions of specific weather elements, such as temperature, winds, clouds and precipitation, so they can focus on forecasting the weather. The meteorologists, for example, will draw images of how temperatures will look at various times across Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands (see picture at left). These images, along with those of other weather elements, will then appear on our web page.

Although graphics are great, we won't abandon our textual products. So who creates the words of the forecast text? The software does that too, both in English and Spanish! The images created by the meteorologists are actually maps of forecasted weather data assigned to specific geographical gridpoints at specific times. These data constitute a digital database of forecast weather elements. In other words, when a meteorologist has finished drawing the images of forecast temperatures, for example, the forecast temperature at every gridpoint (less than one mile apart) and at every hour (for up to seven days) are stored in a database. The IFPS uses this database to automatically generate the words of the weather forecasts you read on our web pages, hear on our NOAA Weather Radio, or see on television.

But this is just the beginning. In the world of computers, once you have weather data in a digital database, the possibilities are almost unlimited! The database, for example, can be downloaded from the NWS and input into computers used by weather-sensitive businesses and organizations to improve their own specific forecast models (e.g., models used to forecast crop growth, electric power usage, water resources, and even transportation). The applications are only limited by the imaginations of our customers. In short, the NWS is bringing the prospect of greater efficiency and effectiveness to the sophisticated users of weather forecasts.

I invite you to check our new graphical forecast pages periodically. We will be experimenting with new looks, new data, new formats, and new user interfaces - all in the hopes of delivering a better product to you! I welcome your comments and questions regarding this new era of digital and graphical forecasts of the National Weather Service. We've only just begun! Come join us!

Israel Matos
Meteorologist in Charge
israel.matos@noaa.gov