NCEP Synergy Meeting Highlights: July 22, 2014

This meeting was led by LT Stephen Barry (EMC) and attended by Keith Brill, Mark Klein and Steve Zubrick (WPC); Becky Cosgrove, Justin Cooke and Chris Caruso-Magee (NCO);  Geoff DiMego, Eric Rogers, Mark Iredell, Vera Gerald, and Mary Hart (EMC); Kathy Gilbert (MDL); Aiyun Zhang (NOS); Bill Bua (UCAR); Mike Brennan and Mark DeMaria (NHC); Joe Sienkowitz (OPC); Dave Radall, Brian Miretzky and Jeff Waldstreicher (ER), John Eise (CR).

1. NOTES FROM NCO (Chris Caruso-Magee)

• NLDAS 30-day evaluation ended last week, feedback is due to NCO (Chris) by COB Thursday, July 23rd.  NCEP Director’s briefing is scheduled for next Thursday, July 31st.  
• NAM 30-day evaluation ends this Thursday, July 24th, feedback to NCO (Chris) by Thursday, July 31st.  NCEP Director’s briefing is scheduled for Friday, August 8th.  
• GFS Extra-tropical Storm Surge (ETSS) 30-day evaluation started Thursday, July 7th.  
• NCO SPA team is working on HRRR.  Final code was received from EMC last week.
• Sea Ice Drift 30-day evaluation starts tomorrow, July 23rd.  AR will be only evaluator.  NCO will place files on SCP server.  
• Sea Ice Concentration does not require 30-day evaluation.  OPC will review upgraded files.  
• First two code packages for GFS/GDAS have been submitted to NCO SPA team.  SPA team will start working on these packages upon completion of NAM.  
• NHC quasi-production codes submission to NCO almost complete.
• NWGOFS/NEGOFS nests NCO awaiting code handoff from NOS and then evaluation will start.  
• NGOFS will have next BCs (low resolution).  High resolution code upgrade evaluation is needed and therefore that part will occur with a future upgrade.
• NCO awaiting NESDIS satellite Mexican/Canadian data points for HYSPLIT before starting the 30-day evaluation.  Upgrade has problems that are being investigated by IBM’s team of analysts.  

2.  NOTES FROM EMC

        2a. Global Climate and Weather Modeling Branch (GCWMB) (Mark Iredell)

• GFS/GDAS upgrade is targeted for early November implementation, two code packages have been handed off to NCO SPA team, other packages should follow before the end of July.  
• GEFS upgrade will likely have to wait until WCOSS Phase 2 as it requires ~300 nodes and will not fit on Phase 1 system.  Mention of reinstating preemption of HiresW.  Will likely be first implementation on Phase 2 system.  Both WCOSS Phase 2 will be available in March 2015.  

        2b. Mesoscale Modeling Branch (MMB) (Geoff DiMego)

• RTMA default station list from previous RTMA upgrade will be dropped in NAM implementation.  RTMA/URMA will keep MADIS and mesonet lists.  RTMA/URMA upgrades scheduled for FY15Q1 (add AK) and FY15Q3 (add PR and HI).  SREF targeted for FY15Q2 upgrade, horizontal resolution will remain at 16-km, will add five vertical levels and increase to twenty-six members.  WRF NMM members will be dropped, will use physics, IC and BC diversity instead.  RAP question from ER:  boundary level too dry, any plans to address this issue?  GSD is aware but not likely to address it until RAP v3/HRRR v2 in FY15Q3.  

        2c. Marine Modeling and Analysis Branch (MMAB) (Vera Gerald)

• Hurricane and Global Wave is working on Guam grids, code package will be submitted to NCO in a few weeks.

2.  NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) (Aijun Zhang)

• NCO is now running upgraded NGOFS in parallel.  Question from OPC:  CBOFS salinity is too high, when is fix coming?  Temporary fix was already implemented by NCO, but it did not resolve the issue.  NOS is working on a permanent fix with new initial conditions, which will require a 30-day parallel.  This is a summer season issue so a quick fix is needed now or wait for permanent fix prior to next summer.  

4.   FEEDBACK FROM MDL/OPERATIONAL CENTERS/REGIONS

        4a. MDL (Kathy Gilbert)

• GFS MOS on schedule to be upgraded with GFS/GDAS.  Stations are being added for TAF support.  Will include POPs and temperatures in CONUS for blender project as well as add more variables and regions later.  

4b. NCEP Centers and NWS Regions

Weather Prediction Center (WPC) (Keith Brill): Nothing to report.

Storm Prediction Center (SPC) (???): Visiting personnel at WPC testbed.

National Hurricane Center (NHC) (Mike Brennan): Nothing to report

Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) (no representative)

           Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) (Joe Sienkiewicz): Interested in changes to

Sea Ice Concentration Analysis, will look at output.  Will not be participating in Sea Ice Drift evaluation.               

Aviation Weather Center (AWC) (Ben Schwedler & Steve Lack) Completing NAM parallel evaluation and determining path forward for more high-resolution data sets until DS3 is upgraded.  Summer experiment taking place August 11-15.

Pacific Region (PR) (No representative)

        Alaska Region (AR) (Carven Scott): Will provide evaluation on Sea Ice Drift.

        Eastern Region (ER) (Brian Miretzky, Jeff Waldstreicher and Dave Radall):         

Question about availability of UKMET data.  NCO said this comes from TOC and

availability is not controlled by NWS.  

Western Region (WR) (No representative)

        Southern Region (SR) (No representative)

        Central Region (CR) (John Eise): Finishing NAM evaluation, anticipating HRRR         

        evaluation.  

  5. NESDIS (no representative)

The next Synergy Meeting will be Monday August 25 in NCWCP conference room 2890, with remote teleconferencing capability.