National Weather Service Central Computer System Backup System

1. National Weather ServiceCentral Computer System Backup System Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, USAF (Ret.)National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationAssistant Administrator for Weather Services

2. Agenda • NWS Overview • Central Computer Backup System Description • System Milestones • System Operational Uses • System Development Uses

3. NWS Overview A Typical Year Brings: • 7 Hurricanes • 1,000 Tornadoes • 5,000 Floods • 10,000 Violent Thunderstorms • Drought Conditions • 500 Deaths; 5,000 Injuries; $14 Billion in Losses • Provide climate, water, weather forecasts and warnings to protect life and property and enhance the economy • Data and products are used by other government agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community.

4. NWS Overview Facilities 13 River Forecast Centers

5. NWS Overview Facilities 122 Weather Forecast Offices 9NationalCenters 6Regions

11. NWS Overview National Centers for Environmental Prediction Tropical PredictionCenter HydrometeorologicalPrediction Center T R N A E L C EnvironmentalModelingCenter Storm PredictionCenter Ocean PredictionCenter O S P N O E I R Climate PredictionCenter Aviation WeatherCenter A T Space EnvironmentCenter

12. NWS Overview Central Guidance Local Offices Observe Process Products & Forecast Services Respond & Feedback Distribute IBM Supercomputer at Gaithersburg, MD Computer Center Research, Development and Technology Infusion Feedback

13. NWS Overview Central Guidance Local Offices Critical backup of “process” step Observe Products & Forecast Services Process Respond & Feedback Distribute IBM Supercomputer Backup at Fairmont, WV Research, Development and Technology Infusion Feedback

14. System Description • Large high performance computing system that mirrors and backs up a primary system in Gaithersburg, MD • Comprised of IBM equipment • 176 Power-4 Regatta H+ nodes • 160 compute nodes, 16 server nodes • 8 processors per node (1.7 Gigahertz clock speed) • 16 Gigabyte (GB) memory per node • Copper based Colony interconnect • 22.5 Terabyte disk storage • 1 Petabyte tape storage • Theoretical peak power 8.7 Teraflops

15. System Description • In top 10 worldwide for weather supercomputers • Uses scalar computing model comprised of a large number of commodity processors • Balanced system in terms of node, interconnect & input/output performance Node/Processor– 4.0 GB/s Disk I/O– 1.3 GB/s Interconnect– 1.5 GB/s

16. System Milestones

17. System Operational Uses • Executes large scale computer models to predict the state of the atmosphere from hours to months in advance • Output of models is called model guidance • Over the U.S., these models divide the atmosphere into a three dimensional grid comprised of 12km squares, split into 60 levels, from the surface up to about 10,000 meters • Over the entire globe, these models divide the atmosphere into a three dimensional grid comprised of 55km squares, split into 64 levels, from the surface up to about 10,000 meters

18. System Operational Uses Reliability is Key Support for Defense and Homeland Security

19. System Operational Uses • GFS model guidance for location of Hurricane Jeanne for September 26, 2004

20. System Operational Uses • GFS model guidance for location of Hurricane Jeanne for September 26, 2004 Location of low (Jeanne) in model guidance issued 30 hours in advance of landfall

21. System Operational Uses • Actual location of Hurricane Jeanne on September 26, 2004

22. System Operational Uses • Actual location of Hurricane Jeanne on September 26, 2004 Actual location of low (Jeanne)

23. System Operational Uses • GFS model guidance for 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004

24. System Operational Uses • GFS model guidance for 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004 Precipitation concentration in model guidance issued 48 hours in advance indicates 125mm of rainfall

25. System Operational Uses • Actual 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004

26. System Operational Uses • Actual 24 hour total precipitation for September 27, 2004 Actual precipitation concentration of 120mm of rainfall

27. System Operational Uses • GFS model guidance for 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004

28. System Operational Uses • GFS model guidance for 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004 Location and intensity of high speed winds (jet stream) in model guidance issued 72 hours in advance

29. System Operational Uses • Actual 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004

30. System Operational Uses • Actual 250 MB wind speeds for September 30, 2004 Actual location and intensity of high speed winds (jet stream)

31. System Operational Uses • Wave Watch model guidance for September 30, 2004

32. System Operational Uses • Wave Watch model guidance for September 30, 2004 Significant wave heights of 16 to 18 feet in model guidance issued 12 hours in advance

33. System Operational Uses • Actual wave heights for September 30, 2004

34. System Operational Uses • Actual wave heights for September 30, 2004 Significant wave heights of 16 to 18 feet

35. System Development Uses • Taxpayers are Getting their Money’s Worth • Support NOAA Research & Development • Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation • Operational Numerical Test Bed • Seasonal Climate Research & Development Accelerate Transition from R&D to Operations

36. Fairmont West Virginia An Important Part of the NWS Team!