1. The Interactive Grid Analysis and Display System (IGrADS) for the U. S
The Interactive Grid Analysis and Display System (IGrADS) for the U.S. Armed Forces
Major Lee A. Byerle
Chief, Warfighter Support Development Team
HQ Air Force Weather Agency
5 Oct 05

2. IGrADS IGrADS developed at Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) Background
Available over JAAWIN (AFWA’s website)
Background
MM5 declared operational at AFWA Oct 97
Up to 30 theaters covering 98% of world’s landmasses
Large numbers (> 250,000) of visualizations were pre-staged daily from AFWA’s MM5 output
Problem: excessive amount of processing needed to create visualized products

3. Interactive Solution
Challenge: we needed to create an interactive tool
Allow forecasters to create the charts they needed
This tool would allow large amounts of processing power to be freed up for production and developmental efforts
Initial interactive capability - IMaST
Unveiled on JAAWIN in May 2001
Limited to meteograms and forecast skew-Ts
Immensely popular with forecasters and customers
Expanded capability - IGrADS
Fielded in Feb 2002
Capability expansion continues through the present
Available models and product types expanded significantly beyond IMaST

5. Model Choices {

6. Available Meteorological Models
AFWA MM5 (will transition to WRF)
AFWA Diagnostic Cloud Forecast (DCF) Algorithm
AFWA Stochastic Cloud Forecast Model (SCFM)
NCEP GFS
NCEP Eta (becoming NAM)
US Navy NOGAPS
US Navy COAMPS
UKMO (Middle East Theater)

7. {
Product Choices

8. Products offered by IGrADS
Meteograms (MM5, Advect Cloud, GFS, Eta, NOGAPS, COAMPS, and UKMO)
MM5 Army low-level meteograms
MM5 severe weather meteogram
GFS meteograms (0 to 180 hour and hour)
GFS and NOGAPS stratospheric meteograms
User defined meteograms
Forecast skew-Ts

9. Products offered by IGrADS (continued)
Vertical cross-sections
Multiple leg cross-sections
Forecast maps (color filled, contoured, both)
Alphanumeric output products
Four-panel forecast maps (five different types)
AFWA Worldwide Merged Cloud Analysis

10. IGrADS Alphanumeric Products
MM5-based
Forecast vertical profile
“FOUS” bulletin (similar to Eta and NGM output from NCEP)
RAOB bulletin
Precision airdrop wind profile
Chemical downwind message
Basic wind message
Field artillery forecast
GFS-based
“FOUS” bulletin (0 to 180 hours at 3 hour intervals)
COAMPS-based

11. IGrADS Map Display Options
World Map centered on Prime Meridian
World Map centered on International Dateline
All MM5 theater maps
United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO) Middle East domain
Continental United States (CONUS) NAM (Eta) domain
Coupled Ocean/Atmospheric Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) Middle East domain

12. Meteograms (from Pole to Equator to Pole)

13. User Defined Meteogram submenu

14. MM5 User Defined Meteogram Northern Siberia
Winds, temperatures, clouds, RH, and icing
Sea Level Pressure and mb thickness
mb and mb thicknesses
Surface winds (knots)
Surface visibility (km)
3-hour precipitation, amount and type
Surface temperature, DP, and wind chill

15. Forecast Skew-T

16. Potential temperature
Vertical Cross Section Hurricane Frances (Valid 30 Aug 04/0000Z), directly through the eye
Relative Humidity
FL winds
Vertical velocity
Potential temperature
Turbulence

17. Vertical Cross Section--Looping capability

18. Sample Trans-Atlantic Vertical Cross Section

19. {
Display Options
Forecast Maps submenu

20. Pre-Staged SLP, 1000-500 mb Thickness Chart

21. SLP, 1000-500 mb Thickness Chart, Winds, Precip
Forecast Map (IGrADS)
SLP, mb Thickness Chart, Winds, Precip

22. Forecast Map Super Typhoon Chaba (valid 25 Aug 04/1200Z), south of Japan
Surface winds (knots) (color-filled)
Sea Level Pressure contours (mb) (black)

23. Forecast Map and User Defined Meteogram Convective wind gust potential, southeast Australia

24. Standard Forecast #1 Four-Panel Map Heavy snow, freezing rain over Ohio, 24 Dec 04
700 mb heights and RH (contours),
and 700 mb vertical velocity (color filled)
500 mb heights (dm),
500 mb temperatures (C), and 500 mb relative vorticity (color filled)
Sea level pressure (mb), mb thickness (dm), and 3-hour precipitation (color filled)
925 mb heights, winds (barbs), and RH (color filled)

25. Winter Weather Four-Panel Forecast Map Heavy snow, freezing rain over Ohio, 24 Dec 04
mb thickness,
925 mb winds, and 3-hr snowfall
mb thickness,
700 mb winds, and 3-hr precipitation
Surface temperature and precipitation type (color filled)
Surface visibility, surface winds, and wind chill temperature

26. Severe Weather Four-Panel Forecast Map Central South Africa, forecast valid 5 Oct 05/1800Z
Total Totals
SWEAT Index
K-Index
CAPE

27. Stochastic Cloud Forecast Model (SCFM) Meteogram and Forecast Map, Valid 21 - 23 Dec 04

28. Alphanumeric output submenu

29. Sample Alphanumeric Product

30. Legend for FOUS

31. 20-22 April 2002 Snowstorm, Northern Plains and Upper Great Lakes
IGrADS Case Study
20-22 April 2002 Snowstorm, Northern Plains and Upper Great Lakes

32. Surface Chart, 21 April 02 at 1200Z

33. MM5 48-Hour Accumulated
Snow Forecast,
20-22 April 2002

35. Vertical Cross Sections, 21 April 02 at 1200ZD B A C

36. Vertical Cross Section Options
CONUS 15-km
Vertical Cross Section Options

37. B A A B

38. D C C D

39. IGrADS Customer Feedback
Kadena AB, Okinawa: “ … we often use your site for planning missions up to 72 hours out. The forecasts aid greatly in our decision making during the planning and execution phases of our missions (air refueling, air delivery, low level flight, short field landings, and basic point A to point B logistics flights).”
Thule AB, Greenland: “I usually print out a vertical cross-section and include it with the pre-takeoff briefing package. Aircrews rave about the product.”
Captain deployed in Afghanistan: “IGrADS has been the decisive difference we need. I use it extensively … especially the Afghan 5 km window for the model skew-Ts.”

40. https://weather.afwa.af.mil/igrads.html Summary
IGrADS is the DoD’s premier interactive weather forecast visualization tool
Available through AFWA’s JAAWIN website
Wide range of meteorological models
Broad array of products (visualizations and alphanumeric)
Product availability for the entire globe
Continued expansion of capabilities ongoing
Additional models, observational data
Space weather forecast and observed products
Accelerated product creation and delivery