National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Snow Squalls May Impact New Year's Eve Travel from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic; Heavy Rain & Isolated Severe Thunderstorms in Southern California

Snow squalls are likely to cross the Lower Great Lakes this evening and the Ohio Valley through the interior Northeast/northern Mid-Atlantic overnight, before potentially reaching the I-95 corridor from D.C. to New York City early New Year’s Day morning. Heavy rain and isolated severe thunderstorms will impact coastal southern California including Los Angeles tonight into early on New Year's Day. Read More >

The Global Telecommunications System (GTS) Internet File Service (GIFS) is provided by the United States National Weather Service (NWS) for World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Association IV (RA-IV) Member States, and other WMO Regions that are adjacent to RA-IV, as a highly reliable Internet source of meteorological products. The purpose of GIFS is to provide access to WMO RA-IV related weather information in BUFR, GRIB, alpha-numeric text, and T4-FAX data types to facilitate Members' access to information needed for operational and some research activities between the United States and nations in the Caribbean, North America, and Central America. This service is available to all authorized WMO RA-IV Member States as well as other WMO Regions adjacent to RA-IV. The GIFS is the primary service for GTS data within RA-IV.

  • GIFS is the primary method for RA-IV RMTN users to obtain GTS data products.
  • GIFS allows WMO RA-IV RMTN users to download (pull) GTS data products from GIFS over the Internet.
  • GIFS makes available the entire suite of meteorological data products that were broadcast by the legacy ISCS satellite system.

The NWS is planning a satellite based broadcast service for backup:

GIFS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)