National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
127 PM MDT FRI SEP 1 2006

TO        FAMILY OF SERVICES (FOS) SUBSCRIBERS...
             NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE (NWWS) SUBSCRIBERS...
             EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK (EMWIN)
               SUBSCRIBERS...
             NOAAPORT SUBSCRIBERS...
             OTHER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (NWS) CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS...
             NWS EMPLOYEES

FROM      BRETT E. MCDONALD...CHRISTOPHER N. JONES
              WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE /WFO/ RIVERTON WY

SUBJECT   RADIOSONDE REPLACEMENT SYSTEM /RRS/ UPPER AIR
              OBSERVATION SYSTEM

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING CHANGES WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON NOAA WEATHER WIRE
SERVICE SUBSCRIBERS.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS TRANSITIONED FROM THE MICROART
UPPER AIR TRACKING SYSTEM INSTALLED IN THE EARLY 80S TO THE NEW GPS
RADIOSONDE TRACKING SYSTEM. THE INSTALLATION AND CALIBRATION BEGAN
EARLY THIS WEEK AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT WEEK.

TO PROVIDE OUR CUSTOMERS WITH THE BEST PRODUCT...THIS SYSTEM WILL
GIVE A MORE DETAILED LOOK AT THE ATMOSPHERE THAT WILL BE REFLECTED
IN MODELING AND FORECASTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

THE FIRST UPPER AIR MESSAGES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED USING THE NEW
TRACKING SYSTEM ON THE 1200 COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC)
SOUNDING TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 05 2006. TESTING WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
THE WEEK.

THE DATA FORMAT OF THE UPPER AIR SYSTEM WILL REMAIN THE SAME
ALTHOUGH THE LENGTH OF CODED MESSAGES WILL INCREASE DUE TO HIGHER
RESOLUTION OF DATA. THE NUMBER OF CODED MESSAGES WILL BE TWO TO
THREE TIMES LONGER FOR THE TTBB AND TTDD SECTIONS. THE NUMBER OF
RELATIVELY UNCHANGED. THE MAXIMUM SIZE LIMITS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
CODED MESSAGES FOLLOW:

TTBB: 135 LEVELS
TTCC:  10 LEVELS
TTDD:  40 LEVELS
PPBB:  40 LEVELS
PPDD:  40 LEVELS

THE HEADER FOR RIVERTON...WYOMING...KRIW (STATION ID 72672) HAS NOT
CHANGED WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE RRS. THE OFFICIAL HEADER OF
THE RIVERTON OFFICE WILL CONTINUE TO BE USED FOR TRANSMISSION OF
RIVERTON UPPER AIR PRODUCTS.

THIS AND OTHER NWS TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICES ARE AVAILABLE
ONLINE AT /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/:

HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/NOTIF.HTM

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE CHANGES...PLEASE CONTACT:

BRETT E. MCDONALD OR
CHRISTOPHER N. JONES
ACTING METEOROLOGISTS IN CHARGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
12744 WEST US HIGHWAY 26
RIVERTON WY  82501
307-857-3898

National Weather Service Riverton WY
621 PM MDT Tue Aug 15 2006

TO:  Family Service  (FOS) Subscribers...
        NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS) Subscribers...
        Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) Subscribers...
        Other National Weather Service (NWS) Customers and Partners...
        And NWS Employees

FROM: Chris Jones...Acting Meteorologist in Charge

SUBJECT: Microart Upper Air System Decommissioning Effective Friday August
                    25th 2006

NOTE:  The following changes have no impact on NOAA Weather Wire Service Subscribers.

This is the first message in a series on the transition from the current Upper Air System (Microart) to the Radiosonde Replacement System (RRS). The last message on this subject will be transmitted after the commissioning of the RRS has occurred.

The decommissioning will occur after the 1200 UTC sounding from Riverton on Friday August 25th 2006. There will not be any soundings from this location until the RRS is installed and operating. The first official observation with the RRS is expected on Tuesday September 5th 2006...and another message will be issued before that time to indicate the first official sounding with RRS.

The header for Riverton Wyoming...KRIW  (Station ID 72672) will not change with the introduction of the RRS. The official header of the Riverton office will continue to be used for transmission of all official products.

If you or your organization have any questions about these changes...please contact Ralph Estell or Rob McFall at 307-857-3898.