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Linux To Power NWS's Storm Prediction System

Posted by timothy on from the mind-the-ups-batteries-please dept.

Mr. Plow writes "The National Weather Service is migrating to Linux-based IBM workstations and has purchased 900 IBM computers and 160 servers to do so." He includes links to coverage at Forbes (a Reuters wire service story there), Government Computer News, and Computerworld.

6 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Of course... by kinnell · · Score: 5, Funny

    With windows all you see is blue

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    If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
  2. One Problem... by JamesD_UK · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who wants reports favourable to penguins?

  3. We have are workstations already by Xenolith · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm a NWS forecaster. We have our new workstations... they are pretty darn nifty. They are dual Xeons (2.4 ghz) running RedHat 7.2. These are much improved over the old HPs, which were J200 (overview). The bad news is that the database and application servers are still the old HPs. These are scheduled to be replaced in the near future as well.

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    Journal
  4. Important to mention... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    That the migration is from HP UX boxes to Linux, not from Windows as some people might assume.

  5. Re:So what's the forecast? by Xenolith · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well, to throw one stat out at you. In 1987, the NWS had a probability of detection score for tornadoes of 25%. This past year it was nearly 80%. Now given, part of that improvement is better trained employees and an excellent skywarn/spotter network. But yes, bigger and better computers are helping to improve the NWS mission.

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    Journal
  6. Re:powered by linux.... by Orp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I, for one, give a shit. I am a meteorology professor who has been using Linux for over a decade. Having the NWS transition over to Linux means it is possible for me to run the same software that NWS operational forecasters are using. In fact, that's already possible - I have a copy of the AWIPS software on a CD-ROM sitting in my office, ready to install. This, in turn, opens the door for research possibilities and just as importantly, allows me to expose students to the kinds of software they will be using should they opt to work for the NWS (many do).

    I visited the Grand Rapids NWS office a month ago and most of the workstations were already running Linux. The SOO (Science Operations Officer) seemed to be pretty happy with this. Why shouldn't he - hardware and software costs go down, machines are faster, and the OS is something that most scientists are using anyway.

    Leigh Orf

    --
    A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous, got me?