A rapidly-intensifying winter storm continues to bring heavy snow, high winds, and blizzard conditions over the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes through today. An Arctic front will lead in a period of gusty to high winds and sharply colder temperatures over the entire eastern U.S. Heavy lake effect snow is then expected from Lakes Erie and Ontario through New Year's Day. Read More >
National Weather Service Dissemination
National Program
Click an FAQ to view questions then click the question to view the answer.
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Response:
NWWS is the fastest method to receive text alerts, warnings, advisories, and weather information from the National Weather Service (NWS) within 10 seconds of when the texts are issued.
NWWS uses both satellite and the Internet to delivery products with high availability.
Response:
NWWS disseminated text products are available via satellite or over the Internet within 10 seconds of issuance.
SATELLITE: An NWWS text-only product stream is available over NWS Satellite Broadcast Network (SBN/NOAAPORT) Channel 201 using a 1.8m (or larger) satellite dish and DVB-S2 (or better) receiver configuration. This method is also known as NWWS-SAT or PID201.
INTERNET: NWWS text-only product stream is available over the “Open Interface” (NWWS-OI); requiring NWS issued user_ID and password and an XML / XMPP software client reader; which is wither user developed or commercially purchased. Basic readers include various chat programs; Pidgin, Gajim, Thunderbird, etc.
Alternative: All NWS products can be received via the Internet over NWS FTP Anonymous and over the SBN/NOAAPORT Channels 101-108. See Product Dissemination (https://www.weather.gov/nwws/dissemination) for additional alerts and warnings dissemination methods available to the public.
NOTE: NWWS only carries those products selected (automatically and/or manually) for NWWS dissemination. Not all NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) issue the same products for NWWS dissemination. And, not all non-weather emergency messages are sent over NWWS.
Response:
NWWS-SAT: Users will require a 1.8m dish (or larger), with a low noise block (LNB) filter, and DVB-S2 (or better) satellite receiver unit.
NWWS-OI: Users will require NWS issued user_ID and password and an XML/XMPP client (user developed or purchased commercially).
NOTE: For highest product availability, use of both NWWS-SAT and NWWS-OI is recommended.
Response:
NWWS-SAT: WMO Standard format
NWWS-OI: XML / XMPP header wrapped format
Text-based products use the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard format (https://www.weather.gov/tg/head/). Most NWS dissemination methods leave the NWS product format unchanged. However, the NWWS-OI is an XML/XMPP header wrapped text format allowing all identified users to access the product stream via a one-way chatroom based on an XMPP client.
Response:
Common Alert Protocol (CAP) version 1.2 is available as a WMO header wrapped message on SBN/NOAAPORT PID 101-108.
| XOAK57 KWBC | XOAK58 KWBC | XOAK59 KWBC | XOCA52 KWBC | XOGM50 KWBC |
| XOHW KWBC | XOUS51 KWBC | XOUS52 KWBC | XOUS53 KWBC | XOUS54 KWBC |
| XOUS55 KWBC | XOUS56 KWBC | XOXX55 KWBC | XOZS50 KWBC |
Additionally CAP v1.2 can be found on https://api.weather.gov/.
More information on CAP v1.2 can be found at
http://docs.oasis-open.org/emergency/cap/v1.2/CAP-v1.2.html.
Response:
Verify configuration set-up (https://www.weather.gov/nwws)
Ensure security and firewalls are set to allow NWS URL access.
NWWS products are also available over the Internet via NWS FTP anonymous, via NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR), telephone, pager, and via commercial provider(s).
Response:
PROBLEM #1: If you did not completely exit the XMPP program before shutting down, a “phantom” account may continue to exist. This “phantom” account will prevent you logging into the NWWS-OI. An account reset will not work.
Response:
The cache or storage directory is full and will have to be cleared, purged or re-located to allow sufficient space for new products.
If you login using an “alias,” it may be interfering with the account identification. Remove the “alias” nickname and check to see if the problem is resolved. If the problem persists, contact the NWWS Program Office.
Response:
Sometimes immediately following a transition, a virtual chatroom “bubble” containing a small number of users (having also automatically connected) is created. Products appear to come in timely and no issues have been raised whenever this situation has occurred. NWS is looking into the cause and potential risks. Currently, NWS cannot verify product dissemination (assumption is product distribution is equal). Resetting or restarting the software or system will re-align the user’s account to the main NWWS-OI chatroom.
Response:
Verify that your software is filtering correctly and the product name is correct. If so, check with the WFO to verify the product was sent to NWWS. WFOs may not send all products to NWWS. Some products require a manual selection by the originator for the product to be disseminated over NWWS. If the WFO has sent the product for NWWS dissemination, please e-mail the NWWS Program Office to see if the product was correctly received. Some products though properly received may not be configured for dissemination over the NWWS Open Interface or NWWS PID 201 or may have experienced a bit error.
Note: Products cannot be resent over NWWS (with the only exception being an emergency NWWS system reset and the cache was not cleared).
Response:
NWS originally developed an EUC for Windows 7 and Windows 8. An updated EUC for Windows 10/11 is available via the NWS Virtual Lab website. https://vlab.noaa.gov/group/guest/welcome.
Email request to become an “External Partner.” Sign-in as “External Partner” and search on "NWWS EUC".
Note: There is a commercial XMPP client version available if the EUC does not work with your system configuration or you cannot develop an XMPP software application. Search “migrate to weather wire.”
Response:
A list of NWR receivers can be found here: NWR Receivers
Response:
Nearby NWR stations can be found using the station search web page here: NWR Station Search
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A list of weather stations by state can be found here: NWR station list by state
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NWR station outages can be reported here: NWR station outage reporting
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Information about automated voicing can be found here: NWR automated voicing
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Information about Spanish voicing can be found here: NWR Spanish voice
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Information about the NWS alarm policy and when tests are conducted can be found here: NWS warning and tests
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Information about the Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME)can be found here: Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME)
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Information radio reception can be found here: NWR reception
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Information weather radio at sea can be found here: NWR marine
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Information about NWR All Hazards can be found here: NWR All Hazards
Response:
(a) Overview. The National Weather Service (NWS) Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) is a dissemination service operating 24-by-7 to provide timely alerts, watches, warnings, forecasts and observations from NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs), River Forecast Centers (RFCs), NWS National Centers (e.g., National Hurricane Center), and other US Federal and International partners. It is intended to be used by US local, state and federal level emergency management organizations; WMO Regional Association IV (RA-IV) member states and geographically included countries in support of emergency management related activities; the media; educational institutions; and the public at large.
(b) Purpose. EMWIN supports the NWS mission to prevent the loss of life and property, and enhance the national economy through the timely dissemination of climate, weather and water alerts, watches, warnings, forecasts and observations. EMWIN also supports the NWS execution of its responsibilities as the WMO RA-IV Regional Telecommunications Hub (RTH) and Global Information System Centre (GISC), to extend the Global Telecommunications Services (GTS) to RA-IV member states and the other geographically included countries.
(c) Broadcast Service Implementation. The EMWIN broadcast service uses two methods to make products available:
(c.1) Satellite Broadcast. The NESDIS HRIT/EMWIN broadcast from the GOES-East and West satellites is available for reception by anyone located within the respective satellite's broadcast footprint operating the appropriate receiving equipment. Additional information on the HRIT/EMWIN receiver and associated equipment is available from NESDIS -
(c.2) File Server. The EMWIN FTP file server makes aggregated product files in .zip format available for anonymous download over the public Internet - it does not require a user account:
Response:
(a) Satellite Broadcast. A High Rate Information Transmission (HRIT) compliant receiver and associated ground terminal equipment is needed to receive the EMWIN product streams on the NESDIS HRIT/EMWIN broadcast from the GOES-East and West satellites. Additional technical information on the HRIT/EMWIN receiver and associated equipment is available from NESDIS: https://noaasis.noaa.gov/GOES/HRIT/about_hrit.html
The HRIT/EMWIN broadcast contains multiple virtual channels with unique content - the EMWIN portion of the broadcast is found on the following three Virtual Channel IDs (VCID):
| VCID | Description | Content |
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| 20 | EMWIN Priority | EMWIN Priority 1 & 2 Text Products* |
| 21 | EMWIN Graphics | Image Products |
| 22 | EMWIN Other | EMWIN Priority 3 & 4 Text Products* |
(b) File Server. A computer with Internet access is needed to download files from the EMWIN FTP file server: https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/SL.us008001/CU.EMWIN/DF.xt/DC.gsatR/OPS/
Downloading files can be accomplished using a web browser Graphical User Interface (GUI) or an FTP command line interface. Commercial applications or scripts which automate either of these methods may be used as well. The latest text and image products are aggregated in time sequenced files on the file server. Additional details are available in the eEMWIN FTP Service Description v1.1
Response:
a) The EMWIN broadcast consists of US and International WMO bulletins in text file format; and images or picture files in JPG, GIF and PNG file formats.
(b) Text bulletin and image files larger than 5.0 Kbytes in size are compressed into .zip file format prior to broadcast and must be unzipped to return them to their native file format (.txt, .png, etc.)
(c) Text Bulletins - The identity of text bulletins referenced by their WMO header information (notes 1,2) may be found in the EMWIN_Text_Product_Catalog_210525-1448
(d) Image Files - a listing of each unique image file with its title, WMO header, and representative picture may be found in the EMWIN Image Product Catalog.
Notes:
Response:
The valid Tsunami bulletins listed in the governing NWS Directive xxx NWSI 10-701, Tsunami Warning Center Operations, and on the published Tsunami Web page ( https://tsunami.gov/?page=product_list ) are included on the EMWIN broadcast. The list of individual products is presented in "Appendix D – Weather Program Listing" in the EMWIN_Text_Product_Catalog_210525-1448.
Response:
EMWIN does contain the bulletins listed in the Regional Association IV – Hurricane Operational Plan for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The list of individual products is presented in "Appendix D – Weather Program Listing" in the EMWIN_Text_Product_Catalog_210525-1448. After the annual RA-IV Hurricane Committee meeting, the published Op Plan revision is reviewed, and the products on the EMWIN broadcast are updated to address any changes.
Response:
EMWIN contains international text products and image files which are not available on the NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS).
EMWIN contains a smaller number of US NWS products when compared to NWWS, but also includes some US NWS products not found on NWWS.
A Comparison ...
AWIPS IDs (ref: AWIPS Category Code ) of US text products from NWS Offices and National Centers included on the EMWIN broadcast (effective Aug 11, 2021) are presented below. Those AWIPS IDs presented in red text identify products which are also available on NWWS. Additional AWIPS IDs found on NWWS but not on EMWIN are not listed.
| Text Products / Priorities | Higher Priority (1 and 2) | Lower Priority (3 and 4) |
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Analysis & Climate (AB-CX)
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DGT, MIS, SCC*, STQ*, SWO*, TWD*, TWO*, TWS* |
AQA, AQI, ASA, AWS, CF6*, |
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Weather Alerts and Warnings (WA-WY) |
AWW, DSA*, EWW, FFW, HLS, HWO, LSR, PTS*, PWO, SAW, SEL, SEV, SLS, SPS, SQW, SVR, SVS, TCD*, TCE, TCM*, TCP*, TCU*, TCV, TIB*, TOR, TSU*, WSW, WWA, WWP* |
SWS |
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Non-Weather Emergency Message Products (ref) |
ADR, AVA, AVW, BLU, CAE, CDW, CEM, DMO, EQW, EVI, FRW, HMW, LAE, LEW, NUW, RHW, RMT, RWT, SPW, TOE, VOW |
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Forecast (FA-FZ) |
AFD, CCF, CFW, COD*, ESF, GLF*, HSF*, ICE*, NOW, PFW*, PRE*, PMD, PWS*, QPF*, RFR*, RDF, SMF, TCA* |
AFM, AFP, AWU, ESS, FWL, LFP, PFM, PRB, QPS, SAG*, SCD, SCS, SFD, SFP, SFT, TVL, ZFP |
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Notices: Admin (NO-NT) and warning/cancel related (NW) |
ADA, ADM, FTM, PNS, REP*, STA*, TST*, TMA, WCN |
OPU |
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Surface Observations |
OSO*, REC, RER, SSM*, STO, TPT*, |
AGO, PLS |
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Space Weather |
ADV, ALT, DAY, SUM, WAT |
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Hazard / Public Warnings |
DSW, EQI, NPW, RFW, SAB |
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Fire Weather Products |
FWD*, FWN, FWO, FWS |
FWF, FWM, RFD |
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Hydrologic Products |
ESG*, FFA, FFG, FFH, FFS, FLS, FLW, HYD, RR5*, RR7*, RVA |
FLN, HMD, HYM, HYW, RRM, RVD, RVF, RVM, RVR, RVS |
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Marine Products |
CGR, CWF, LSH, MIM*, MWS, MWW, NSH*, OFF, OMR, SMW, SRF, TID |
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Aviation Products |
ABV*, FZL, MAN*, MTR*, SGL*, TAF*
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Other |
WOU, SAT*, SPE*, TCS* |
RBG |
Notes:
RED text = also available on the NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS)
* = limited by EMWIN to specific WFOs (see Appendix A, EMWIN Text Product Catalog)
highlighted = not found in the AWIPS Category Code listing.
Response:
ISCS is a satellite data distribution system operated by the United States National Weather Service (NWS), providing support to (1) the World Area Forecast System (WAFS), and (2) the Region IV Meteorological Telecommunications Network (RMTN). ISCS support for WAFS is on behalf of the International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
ISCS/WAFS purpose is to provide the worldwide aviation community with operational meteorological forecasts and information about meteorological phenomena required for flight planning and safe, economic, and efficient air navigation. The ISCS operates on a 24-hour/365-day basis. ISCS support for RMTN is part of a cooperative effort between NWS and WMO to improve the Global Telecommunications System (GTS), in WMO Region IV (North and Central America).
Response:
The WAFS portion of ISCS is moving away from satellite broadcast of aviation related data products, and a WAFS Internet File Service (WIFS) has been established as the replacement. WIFS is currently available for access over the Internet to ISCS/WAFS users.
Response:
The ISCS satellite broadcast of both WAFS data and RMTN data will be terminated simultaneously for all users of ISCS the end of June 2012. However, alternative methods will be available to WMO RA-IV users within the next 12 months.
Response:
ISCS WAFS users can obtain WAFS related data today by accessing the WAFS Internet File Service (WIFS) over the Internet.
ISCS RA-IV RMTN users can obtain RA-IV related GTS and WAFS data by accessing the Global Telecommunications Internet File Service (GIFS) over the Internet. The GEONetcast-Americas (GNC-A) satellite broadcast is a backup for the NWS GIFS.
Response:
The primary difference between WIFS data GIFS data is that WIFS will provide only WAFS data products. GIFS will provide both WAFS and GTS data products in a fashion similar to the current ISCS broadcast.
Response:
WAFS users can register by the Internet for access to WIFS. at – https://aviationweather.gov/wifs/registration/index
Response:
When GIFS is available; users should contact the ISCS Program Office for access authorization.
Response:
The NWS, ISCS Program Office is planning to migrate away from the NOAAnet (now called OPSNet) circuits provided to RA-IV users by June 2012. Users will be notified of the plan to move away from these circuits by June 2012. ISCS users in WMO RA-IV can submit their data by using the Email Data Ingest Service (EDIS) currently available at the NWS Telecommunications Gateway (NWSTG). Users that have not already established an EDIS account with the NWSTG should contact the ISCS Program Office for access authorization. Only text data will be accepted via email from the Users. Users may also FTP their data if they are subscribers to the NWSTG FTP Input (Ingest) Service. Information on the NWSTG FTP Input Service can be found on the Internet at https://www.weather.gov/tg/ftpingest.html.
Response:
All of the ISCS data (WAFS and WMO RA-IV data) is also available on the GTS and via the Internet from the NWSTG FTP File Service (https://www.weather.gov/tg/dataprod.html). In addition; the NWS is also investigating the GEONetcast-Americas (GNC-A) satellite broadcast as a backup for the NWS GIFS. Additional information on GNC-A can be found on the Internet at https://www.geonetcastamericas.noaa.gov/.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
National Weather Service Dissemination
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