080
NOUS41 KWBC 031515
PNSWSH
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT 26-08
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS SILVER SPRING MD
1015 AM EST TUE FEB 3 2026
TO: SUBSCRIBERS:
-NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
-EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK
-NOAAPORT
OTHER NWS PARTNERS, USERS AND EMPLOYEES
FROM: DEBRA BLONDIN
ACTING DIRECTOR
NCEP/AVIATION WEATHER CENTER
SUBJECT: SOLICITING COMMENTS ON EXPERIMENTAL GRAPHICAL
TURBULENCE GUIDANCE (GTG) NOWCAST (GTGN) PRODUCT THROUGH MARCH
5, 2026
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (NWS) IS SOLICITING USER COMMENTS
ON THE AVIATION WEATHER CENTER’S (AWC) EXPERIMENTAL GTGN PRODUCT
THROUGH MARCH 5, 2026.THIS PRODUCT IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A
NEAR REAL-TIME ANALYSIS OF IN-FLIGHT TURBULENCE EVERY 15
MINUTES, SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCING SUPPORT FOR THE AVIATION
COMMUNITY. GTGN USES A SHORT-TERM (1 OR 2-HOUR) FORECAST FROM
THE GTG AS THE BASIS FOR THE NOWCAST. RECENT OBSERVATIONS OF
TURBULENCE ARE THEN USED TO UPDATE THE GTG FORECAST AND CREATE A
BLENDED ANALYSIS. OBSERVATIONAL DATASETS CURRENTLY USED BY GTGN
INCLUDE AIRCRAFT OBSERVATIONS FROM PILOT REPORTS (PIREPS),
AUTOMATED IN SITU ENERGY (EDDY) DISSIPATION RATE (EDR) REPORTS,
EDR ESTIMATED FROM GROUND-BASED RADAR OBSERVATIONS VIA THE
NEXRAD TURBULENCE DETECTION ALGORITHM (NTDA), ESTIMATED EDR FROM
LIGHTNING DATA AND METAR DATA.THE OUTPUT OF GTGN IS ENERGY
DISSIPATION RATE TO THE ONE THIRD POWER, OR EDR. EDR IS AN
ATMOSPHERIC, AIRCRAFT INDEPENDENT METRIC OF TURBULENCE. THE GTG
FORECAST IS BASED ON NOAA’S 3-KM HIGH-RESOLUTION RAPID REFRESH
(HRRR) MODEL OVER THE CONUS, AND THUS ITS DOMAIN SERVES AS THE
HORIZONTAL DOMAIN FOR GTGN. THE VERTICAL RESOLUTION OF THE
NOWCAST STARTS AT THE SURFACE (100 FEET) AND IS OUTPUT AT EVERY
1,000 FEET UP TO 50,000 FEET.
THE GTGN DISPLAY AT THE BELOW EXPERIMENTAL WEBPAGE WILL BE
UPSCALED TO A 13-KM HORIZONTAL RESOLUTION FROM THE NATIVE 3-KM
TO ALIGN WITH THE AWC WEBSITE FRAMEWORK. ADDITIONALLY, LEVELS
3,000 FEET UP TO 42,000 FEET IN 3,000 FOOT INTERVALS WILL BE
DISPLAYED, ALONG WITH EDR MAXIMUMS ABOVE AND BELOW 18,000 FEET.
THESE MAXIMUMS ARE POST-PROCESSED USING ALL VERTICAL LEVELS
ABOVE AND BELOW 18,000 FEET.
THE EXPERIMENTAL GTG NOWCAST PRODUCT DISPLAY IS AVAILABLE AT THE
FOLLOWING LOCATION:
HTTPS://TESTBED.AVIATIONWEATHER.GOV/GTGN/
INPUT ON THE GTGN IS BEING SOUGHT FROM USER VIA THE FEEDBACK
FORM BELOW:
GOOGLE FORM: HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/4YRI2PYJXB5HU59X8
NOTE THAT DATA ON THE TESTBED WEBPAGE IS SUBJECT TO OUTAGES WHEN
THE DEVELOPMENT WEATHER AND CLIMATE OPERATIONAL SUPERCOMPUTING
SYSTEM (WCOSS) MACHINE IS UNAVAILABLE FOR MAINTENANCE OR IF
INPUT DATA IS OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE. PLEASE SUBMIT COMMENTS,
QUESTIONS, OR REQUESTS PERTAINING TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GTGN TO:
ROBERT HEPPER
NCEP/AVIATION WEATHER CENTER
EMAIL: ROBERT.HEPPER@NOAA.GOV
NATIONAL PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS ARE ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NOTIFICATION/
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