Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) played a key role in developing an award-winning Web site that provides pilots with accurate weather forecasts of winds, turbulence, icing, and thunderstorms. A Government Technology Leadership Award was presented to the site’s sponsoring agency, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in a ceremony at the Reagan Conference Center in Washington, D.C., last month.

Estimated savings from ADDS are dependent upon the type of aircraft and the number and length of flights. Over $34 million a year in efficiency and safety benefits are projected from the ADDS icing product alone.

Recognizing fundamenta and continuing contributions to the art and science of weather modification

For developing and supporting RAP's Snowfall Test Site at Marshall. Nearly single-handedly, Jeff set up a facility for testing snow gauges and evaluating the performance of deicing fluids for RAP's FAA-sponsored Ground Deicing and Snowfall Evaluation Program. Over the past three years Jeff has created a state-of-the-art test site with a wide variety of weather and snowfall sensors. He also has modified a trailer to serve as an operations center with real-time radar displays and output from the various sensors. The Marshall site has become an important component of RAP's winter research program and has attracted national and international attention.

Barbara is past chair and former member of the World Meteorological Organization's Joint Working Group on Forecast Verification Research. She is a internationally recognized expert on the development and application of methods to evaluate forecasts and models. 

Bob Barron, Bill Myers, John Caron, and Frank Hage, all from RAP.

For the development of two outstanding weather displays as part of the FAA Aviation Weather Development Program. The regional display converts a large amount of data into three-dimensional displays and represents a quantum leap in temporal and spatial depiction of aviation weather. The three-dimensional terminal viewer combines weather products, satellite terrain imagery, and air traffic into a pioneering virtual-reality display that runs in real time.

For developing, deploying, and demonstrating the Weather Support to Deicing Decision Making (WSDDM) system at La Guardia and O'Hare International Airports. WSDDM is an integrated system that depicts short-term forecasts of snowfall rate, wind speed and direction, temperature, and humidity, all in an easy-to-interpret format. Last winter, this FAA-supported system was tested by four airlines at the two airports above, as well as by the New York Traffic Control Center at LaGuardia. One of the system's greatest strengths is its use of snow-gauge data to determine liquid equivalent snowfall rates - the most important factor that determines how often aircraft must be deiced. One study estimated that the annual cost savings to an airport using WSDDM would be more than $1 million. To support the many data sources and widely dispersed users, the WSDDM team created the largest, most complex networking system in RAP's history.