NOAA WPO Observations Program: FY21 Projects

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) is the core of operational weather forecasting, which not only has a major influence on our day to day lives, but is also critical for the protection of life and property. But what drives NWP models? Observations! Observations are processed and assimilated into NWP models in order to output weather forecasts based upon the current state of the Earth's land, sea, air, and ice. Numerous types of observations spanning the globe, including in-situ and remotely sensed, are ingested into these models. More recently, the need for more in-situ, surface-based observations has been amplified. Observations of the surface provide critical information of the surface properties needed to properly represent the coupling between the two mediums, i.e. atmosphere-land, atmosphere-ocean. The demand for such observations has increased because, currently, in-situ surface observations are relatively sparse, which hinders progress in advancing weather forecasting capabilities. 

The  NOAA Weather Program Office (WPO) Observations Program  partnered with NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and NOAA stakeholders to organize priorities for surface and planetary boundary layer (PBL) observations to address this pressing need. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, NOAA Weather Program Office (WPO) Observations Program hosted a grant competition aiming to “develop and demonstrate innovative sensor and observing technologies that have high potential for advancing an observation systems portfolio that is mission-effective, integrated, adaptable, and affordable.” Grant proposals focused on in-situ, surface-based and PBL observing techniques and technologies were requested to achieve this overarching goal. WPO Observations Program successfully funded 18 projects that fall in line with the priorities to push forward progress in increasing the number and reliability of surface-based observations.

In collaboration with NWS and NOAA stakeholders, WPO established nine priorities for surface-based and boundary layer observing systems and technologies. Of the 18 projects that have been funded, several projects aim to address more than one priority: 1 project focuses on 5 priorities, 1 project focuses on 4 priorities, 3 projects focus on 3 priorities, 4 projects focus one 2 priorities, and 9 projects focus on 1 priority. With several funded projects covering more than one priority, great progress in advancing observing techniques within each category is anticipated.

1. Extreme temperatures
2. Aircraft and Radiosonde Data Analysis
3. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Data Analysis
4. Unmanned Systems (UxS) and Expendables
5. UAS mapping
6. Gap Filling Radars
7. Snow Observations
8. Harnessing Data Sets of Opportunity
9. Other areas of interest include algorithm improvements, physics' packages for NWP improvements, complementary observations, and studies of the PBL in marine and coastal environments.

The Weather Act of 2017 mandates the improvement of weather forecasting through the advancement of observing techniques, data assimilation, and numerical weather prediction. The WPO Observations program directly addresses this legislation by funding innovative projects that aim to progress weather observing technologies. The FY21 Observations Competition was extremely successful in that 18 projects were funded to address observing needs over several sectors of meteorology. Over the two year funding period, the cutting edge research will advance towards the overarching goal of better observing the surface and planetary boundary layer to support both our understanding of these environments, as well as weather forecast improvements.