Collaborative Science, Technology, and Applied Research (CSTAR) Program

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The long term objective of the CSTAR Program is to improve the overall forecast and warning capabilities of the operational hydrometeorological community by addressing the following science and technology themes through collaborative research efforts between the NWS and academic institutions: Warn on Forecast for High Impact Events: Decision support services will be enhanced by developing the capability to issue short-fused warnings/alerts before the phenomena actually occur. This concept, called "Warn on Forecast," advances the idea of warnings/alerts issued with greater lead times, allowing decision makers the opportunity to make better, more informed choices across the spectrum of high impact events. Warn on Forecast requires improved data assimilation and numerical models that capture the convective scale to provide improved "initiation of convection" forecasts. Next Generation Forecast System: Decision support services will be enhanced by developing a next generation forecast system that will provide an increasing number of environmental and uncertainty fields in a high spatial and temporal resolution four-dimensional gridded database. The forecast database will support core operational services and be used as input to external user decision support systems. The forecast database would represent the best, quality-controlled state of current and forecast environmental conditions. Integrated Observing and Analysis System: Decision support services will be enhanced by developing a robust next generation "Integrated Observing and Analysis System" to produce the best "state of the environment" and serve as the basis for future forecast systems such as "Warn on Forecast" and the "Next Generation 4-D Forecast System." Decision Support Information Systems: Operational weather and water services will evolve from a role of disseminating data and products to one of interactive sharing of weather and climate environmental information for the primary goal of providing decision support to community leaders, partners and the public. Integrating Social Science into Weather and Water Research and Operations: Operational decision support services will be enhanced by improving the ability to assess, understand, and meet customer needs and determine the value those services provide through the integration of social science in its research and operational programs. Individual NWS Regions and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) service centers have developed a set of science priorities that can be categorized under these science and technology themes and reflect factors such as topography, weather regimes, and mission.

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