From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction Crossing the Valley of Death (2000) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 12-18
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From page 12... ...
The United States experiences a greater variety of extreme weather events than does any other country.3 Because of this variety and the societal impacts of these events, great demands are placed on forecast 3 The unique geographic structure of the North American continent accounts for this. The continent has a major north-south mountain range, but no east-west range of any significance.
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From page 13... ...
There is strong evidence that improvements to forecast models and products will provide more accurate and timely forecasts, which can be used by decision makers to better protect life and property and expand opportunities to stimulate economic activity, enhance national competitiveness, and improve environmental management (PieIke and Kimpel, 19971. This report focuses on two important aspects of the weather forecasting system in the United States: the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)
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From page 14... ...
Present weather and climate information is used to define short-term actions. Simple statistical inference about future weather or climate or predictions based on dynamic models can be used to guide decisions about future actions to be taken by users sensitive to weather and climate.
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From page 15... ...
Locationspecific business decisions, such as when to start pouring concrete in a construction project or whether to shut down operations in response to tornado or hurricane warnings, will be made with the help of decision support systems that include environmental data targeted for a specific place and time. It will soon be possible to deliver several new forecast products that will, at first, be unfamiliar to the public, but will become as indispensable as our present weeklong weather forecasts.
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From page 16... ...
, it should be possible to produce useful forecasts of pollution levels that might trigger asthma attacks. The strong ties between air temperature and air quality and the associated negative impact of poor air quality on all aspects of human respiratory health are creating demands for a whole new suite of air quality forecasts.
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From page 17... ...
investments in weather and climate research and technology.5 Just as NOAA's traditional weather forecasting products have spurred the growth of private companies that provide tailored weather products for their clients, this increased demand will also facilitate more rapid growth of private sector enterprises structuring specific products for their clients or customizing or extending governmentprovided products. However, until current research advances are incorporated effectively into operational forecasts, the nation will not realize the attendant benefits of its research investment.
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From page 18... ...
The first critical element discussed in Chapter 3 is the Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)
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