SPoRT has been part of a collaborative effort within the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Proving Ground Sounding Initiative* to provide plan-view and cross-section displays of CrIS/ATMS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder/Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) temperature and moisture soundings in AWIPS (i.e., Gridded NUCAPS).  Currently, NWS offices receive NUCAPS Soundings through the Satellite Broadcast Network (SBN) and Gridded NUCAPS is the capability to process and view these data horizontally and vertically.  Gridded NUCAPS was originally developed to diagnose Cold Air Aloft (CAA) but can also be used to diagnose the pre-convective environment. Gridded NUCAPS has been evaluated at the Anchorage CWSU for the CAA forecasting challenge and at the Hazardous Weather Testbed for assessing the pre-convective environment. As part of the JPSS Sounding Initiative, the team of collaborators is exploring new applications for Gridded NUCAPS and working with developers to baseline the product in AWIPS.  Gridded NUCAPS is expected to be released in AWIPS build 19.2.1. This Vlab site provides resources and tools to help NWS forecasters learn about and use Gridded NUCAPS in AWIPS.  

Gridded NUCAPS is a follow-on product to the NUCAPS Sounding described in this prior lesson (link).  Instead of a single profile view, the NUCAPS sounding data for all points along a pressure level or within a layer are used to create plan view displays of temperature-and moisture-based fields.

*including NOAA NWS, Science and Technology Corporation, the Cooperative Institute for Research of the Atmosphere, Geographic Information Network of Alaska, and Space Science Engineering Center/Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies 

Satellite Menu

In CAVE:  Satellite → S-NPP and NOAA-20 → Gridded NUCAPS

Note:  Data are loaded into separate frames, which may not be optimal for analysis. Click here to see a set of instructions (.ppt) on loading multiple frames into one large swath or you can watch this short video demonstration (.mp4, ~60MB).  

Volume Browser

In CAVE:  Volume → Browser

In the Volume Browser window, under the Sources section: Volume → GriddedNUCAPS, then select the desired data under the Fields and Planes sections.