Service Change Notice

NOUS41 KWBC 281559
PNSWSH
 
Public Information Notice
National Weather Service Headquarters Washington DC
1100 AM EST Fri Feb 28 2014
 
TO:        Subscribers:
           -Family of Services
           -NOAA Weather Wire Service
           -Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
           -NOAAPORT
           Other NWS partners and NWS employees
 
FROM:      Cindy Woods
           Chief, Operations and Requirements Division
           Chief, Performance and Awareness Division
 
SUBJECT:   Use of Mixed-Case Letters in Select NWS National
           Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center
           Products Effective on or about May 15, 2014
 
Effective on or about May 15, 2014, the NWS intends to expand its
mixed-case text product risk-reduction effort to include select
products issued by both the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and
the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC).
 
Table 1:  Operational NHC and CPHC Products Being Tested
Experimentally in the Mixed-Case Text Format
 
Product Name                  WMO Header         AWIPS ID
------------                  ----------         --------
Tropical Weather Outlook      ABNT20 KNHC        TWOAT
 (Atlantic) 
 
Tropical Weather Outlook      ABPZ20 KNHC        TWOEP
 (Eastern Pacific)
 
Tropical Weather Outlook      ACPN50 PHFO        TWOCP
 (Central Pacific)
 
Tropical Cyclone Discussion   WTNT/41-45/ KNHC   TCDAT/1-5/
 (Atlantic)
 
Tropical Cyclone Discussion   WTPZ/41-45/ KNHC   TCDEP/1-5/
 (Eastern Pacific)
 
Tropical Cyclone Discussion   WTPA/41-45/ PHFO   TCDCP/1-5/
 (Central Pacific)
 
This expansion in the number of available mixed-case text
products is a continuation of the risk-reduction effort which
began in August 2010 by issuing National Public Information
Notice (PNS) products using mixed-case letters and the expanded
punctuation/character set (Table 2):
 
  http://www.weather.gov/os/notification/scn10-28mixed_case.txt
 
AFD, RWS and PNS products at select Weather Forecast Offices
(WFOs) in October 2011:
 
  http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/notification/pns11mixedcase.txt
 
Some RiverPro generated products at select WFOs in July 2013:
 
  pns13atan1096riverpro.txt
 
and The PWO product issued by the Storm Prediction Center in July
2013:
 
  pns13spcmixedcase.txt
 
The NWS first began seeking comments regarding mixed-case text
products in May 2010:
 
  http://www.weather.gov/os/notification/pns10mixed_case.txt
 
NWS partners and users of these NHC and CPHC text products are
encouraged to consider the NWS’ intent and comment regarding this
next step in the risk-reduction effort. User feedback will help
the NWS better plan the eventual transition of all NWS text
products to mixed case and the expanded character set.
 
Please provide comments at:
 
  http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=mixed-case
 
Use of mixed-case letters in text products will make them easier
to read and allow users to click on Internet links directly
rather than converting them to lowercase or mixed case. 
Additional punctuation and other characters that are part of the
international reference Alphabet No. 5 will also be included as
appropriate.
 
Table 2:  Allowed Mixed-Case Character Set
“space” ! “ # $ % & ‘ ( ) * + , - . /
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ?
@ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _
` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~
In this phase of our risk-reduction effort, partners and users
will have the opportunity to further identify and correct any
anomalous behavior of their systems and their customers' systems
that may be caused by mixed case and the expanded
punctuation/character set in these text products.
 
These products will continue to be issued using mixed-case text
through the end of the 2014 Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and Central
Pacific Hurricane Seasons, normally November 30, 2014; however,
partners and users should be aware these products may revert back
to using all uppercase letters at any time if the NHC and/or CPHC
determine it to be necessary to meet operational requirements.
 
For more information, please contact:
 
  Chris Landsea
  Science and Operations Officer
  NOAA/NWS/NCEP/National Hurricane Center
  Miami, Florida 33165
  305-229-4446
  chris.landsea@noaa.gov
 
  Tom Evans
  Deputy Director
  NOAA/NWS/Central Pacific Hurricane Center
  Honolulu, Hawaii
  808-973-5273
  tom.evans@noaa.gov
 
  Michael J. Szkil
  Chief, Awareness Branch
  Silver Spring, MD
  301-713-0280, Ext. 111
  michael.szkil@noaa.gov
 
National Public Information Notices are online at:
 
  http://www.weather.gov/os/notif.htm
 
$$