NextGen Weather Systems consist of Common Support Services - Weather (CSS-Wx) and the NextGen Weather Processor (NWP), designed for implementation in the National Airspace System (NAS). NWP focuses on aviation weather processing and translated product generation; CSS-Wx focuses on weather information management to support users. Together, NWP and CSS-Wx ingest data once and provide tailored subsets of large data products to various subscribers. Consumers subscribe to aviation weather products published in Open Geospatial Consortium standard formats. Consumers can also view the products on the NWP Aviation Weather Display (AWD) designed to meet NAS user requirements for display of aviation weather products. 

NextGen Weather Inputs

Sensor inputs are shown across the top of the graphic above, where air surveillance radar data is ingested directly by NWP, and all NAS weather sensor data is ingested by CSS-Wx. The NAS sensor input labeled "Surface Stations" collectively covers the Automated Surface Observing Systems, the Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS), Automated Weather Sensor Systems, and lightning sensors.

These products are received by CSS-Wx via the Weather Messaging Switching Center Replacement and the AWOS Data Acquisition System. Other inputs include Terminal Doppler Weather Radar and Low Level Wind Shear Alert System, Next Generation Weather Radar, and east and west Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite data via NOAAPort, a high bandwidth weather data broadcast system operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The graphic also depicts acquisition of Canadian weather radar data and the service oriented data transfer from NOAA, including model data and other products, via the NAS Enterprise Security Gateway (NESG). Aeronautical Common Services provides information about airports, navigational aids and other aeronautical data to NextGen Weather.

NextGen Weather Outputs

Upon receiving weather data from CSS-Wx, NWP centrally produces domain-wide weather products. CSS-Wx publishes the NWP products and required NOAA weather data to System Wide Information Management (SWIM) for delivery to NAS consumers.

Examples of SWIM weather consumers include automated decision support systems such as Traffic Flow Management System, Time Based Flow Management, and Terminal Flight Data Manager, as well as display systems such as the Integrated Display System Replacement.

To ensure an immediate and smooth transition to NextGen Weather Systems, some NAS user systems may elect to receive their data via CSS-Wx service adaptors, which convert their required weather products to legacy formats. Systems in this category include En Route Automation Modernization, Microprocessor En Route Automated Radar Tracking System, Advanced Technologies and Oceanic Procedures, Dynamic Ocean Tracking System Plus, and Flight Data Processor 2000. SWIM will also provide digital NWP products to AWD external web and to other external aviation users, such as Flight Services and airlines via the NESG.

NextGen Weather Archive

CSS-Wx archives all input weather data sources and output weather products for NextGen Weather Systems, except for data provided to the FAA by NOAA, since NOAA manages that archive. The NWP AWD maintains a display-oriented archive for post-event operational analyses.