About MDL

 The National Weather Service’s Meteorological Development Laboratory (MDL) is part of the NWS Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI).  MDL conducts applied research and development for the improvement of diagnostic and prognostic weather information; data depiction and utilization; warning and forecast product preparation and dissemination; forecast evaluation; and impact-based decision support services. 


MDL is the National Weather Service’s only officially designated Laboratory and actively seeks to identify new scientific and technical solutions in response to NWS mission requirements.  MDL focuses on taking proven applications of research to create guidance, tools, and services intended for operational implementation in the NWS.  MDL scientific techniques and technological tools better enable forecasters to make accurate predictions and better disseminate information about weather, water, and climate effects, tailored to support Core Partners and for the general public.


The Laboratory collaborates with other NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Laboratories and Weather Program Office (WPO) and the NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) on research and development activities.  MDL is also a collaborator with other national and international weather prediction and research agencies. 


The Laboratory is composed of four divisions, with a home office located in the NWS Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. In addition, we have staff distributed throughout the country in 17 other states.  The Laboratory currently employs approximately 80 federal and contracted employees, including meteorologists, physical scientists, information technology specialists, and UI/UX designers.

 

MDL Mission:

  • Support the transformation of the NWS to Probabilistic IDSS and its Operations Model through collaboratively developing, validating, and integrating advanced techniques, including artificial intelligence and other proven research, into NWS operations  
  • Focus on providing solutions in the form of calibrated probabilistic guidance, tools, and digital services needed to enable the provision of probabilistic forecast information, decision support services, and the management of community engagement
     

MDL Vision:

Internal and external NWS stakeholders are empowered through the effective creation and provision of probabilistic information to understand their hazard risks and potential impacts to fully realize a Weather-Ready Nation.

 

MDL Strategic Priorities:

  • Lead the development of wholesale and specialized probabilistic guidance that is reliable, evidence-based, rooted in strong science and incorporates modern techniques to support IDSS efforts and the creation of an NDFD that requires minimal edits 
  • Provide forecast and IDSS verification statistics that support intelligent business decisions
  • Build and transition technical solutions to manage partner engagement to address community needs and for analyzing, visualizing, and communicating potential hazards to decision makers
     

MDL Projects Include:

  • Statistical post processing and modeling, including the integration of models run by fellow international agencies, to create consistent forecast products with probabilistic information.  Historically, this has been done through the Model Output Statistics (MOS) from various models, National Blend of Models (NBM), and Localized Aviation MOS Product (LAMP) projects.  Going forward, the focus is on a next-generational post-processing system which will incorporate NBM, MOS, and LAMP into one system
  • Statistical post processing and modeling to create skillful coastal forecast guidance with probabilistic information through the Probabilistic Storm Surge (P-Surge), Probabilistic Extra-Tropical Storm Surge (P-ETSS) and Rip Current MOS (RCMOS) projects
  • Improved tools to support the management of all NWS Partner information and collaboration for community partnerships, outreach and the provision of Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS) through NWS Connect and NWSChat 2.0
  • Improved tools to support the interrogation of probabilistic information through the Whole Story Uncertainty and Probabilities Viewer (WSUP).  In the future, these capabilities will be merged with OAR’s Global System’s Laboratory Dynamic Ensemble-based Scenarios for IDSS (DESI) tool’s capabilities in a collaboratively developed solution to be integrated with NWS Connect.
  • Creation of other NWS mission delivery tools, such as the Local Climate Analysis Tool (LCAT)
  • The provision of NWS forecast information through the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) and associated web viewers
  • Verification Services to inform the accuracy of the NDFD official NWS forecast, NBM, and Weather Prediction Center Forecast elements
  • Data Management Services, including development of an Open Geospatial Consortium compliant Environmental Data Retrieval API and XML web services, The World Area Forecast System (WAFS) Internet File Service (WIFS), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Information System (WIS)

About MDL