Wallops Island, VA, Jul 18 08: IPSM completed Phase I of a two-phased system upgrade at NASA Wallops Island, VA. The LEADS 5.2 system upgrade installation was a complete success. The new system is fully operational and being used by Wallops weather forecasters for mission support. Phase II of the upgrade, consisting of a new climatological system, is scheduled for install this fall.

Wallops Island, VA, 27 Jun 08: IPSM, working closely with NASA Wallops Island, has just completed a round of successful launch drills focused on providing toxic plume support. IPSM forecasters provided numerous weather forecasts over the past week for sounding rocket launches out of the NASA Wallops Island launch complex. These forecasts focused on key weather parameters, such as winds, temperature, cloud coverage and inversion heights, which are critical to post-launch plume modeling. NASA runs detailed plume models in conjunction with all major orbital vehicle launches to determine where the rocket exhaust plumes will drift and how long it will take for them to disperse. Weather plays a key role in these models and IPSM, thanks to the success of these drills, is now ready to provide this support on-site for all future orbital launches at Wallops.

Black Brant XI Sounding Rocket that IPSM supported this week.

Wallops Island, VA, 2 June 08: NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) has entered into an agreement to upgrade their current LEADS system to version 5.2. This upgrade will bring a new level of advanced and comprehensive weather support to orbital launches. The NASA upgrade includes an improved LEADS On-Line weather portal and an all-new climatology database system. The new NASA systems are scheduled for installation this fall to support the TACSAT 3 launch.

Boulder, CO, 30 Apr 08: IPSM and Space Environment Technologies, LLC (SET) of California are pleased to announce a new premium space weather products service to reduce operating expenses for commercial aviation. This capability optimizes pre-flight air routing efficiency for assured communications sensitive routes to easily comply with post-9/11 communication requirements. Click here to view the full press release.

Denver, CO, 28 Apr 08: IPSM, in cooperation with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), is pleased to announce that JMA radar data is now available on LEADS On-Line! The JMA manages 15 single-site radars across Japan, and generates a national, 1-km, 10-minute precipitation rate mosaic product. IPSM has applied our internal precipitation type algorithm to the mosaic data, which is currently available for viewing over various regions of Japan. LEADS On-Line users can see this real-time data here.

Denver, CO, 21 Apr 08: Last week, three new ARGIS meteorologists attended a week-long LEADS 4.2 training session with IPSM Training Specialist Nathan Anderson. The training focused on advanced user and administrator tasks and was a huge success! To sign up for future IPSM LEADS factory training courses, check out the schedule here.

Denver, CO, 25 Mar 08: IPSM is proud to announce that our new, web-based weather decision support solution, LEADS On-Line, is now live and fully operational.  LEADS On-Line earns its innovative reputation by delivering broadcast-quality, world-wide weather products to professional meteorologists and decision-makers continuously across an internet connection.  With LEADS On-Line, meteorologists and decision-makers are assured that they will always have the most recent weather data with constant delivery and retrieval of the most comprehensive weather forecasting products available. 

LEADS On-Line is much more then just a website for viewing weather data.  It also provides a full set of tools for users to customize their own weather pages.  Additionally, many services are available within LEADS On-Line, allowing users to make real-time queries to the database for various types of weather products spanning the globe. Furthermore, IPSM has completely integrated LEADS On-Line with the LEADS Forecaster Workstation software.  Each image displayed is contained within the relational database and not only contains the image (.jpg or .png) but the LEADS .disp file.  This .disp file is in raw LEADS format and maintains its layers, colormaps, and underlying data.  All .disp products posted online enable comprehensive product manipulation by downloading files, editing, analyzing, and then re-posting newly created products for availability to others.  

To sign up for a trial account, visit LEADS On-Line, select the login link and register.  For more information on LEADS On-Line pricing, please contact our sales department at sales@meteostar.com.

Chattanooga, TN, 14 Mar 08: IPSM finalized the upgrade of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) LEADS system. TVA moved forward to LEADS version 5.1 which included the installation of our new LEADS On-Line web portal technology.

TVA is the US's largest public power company, with 33,000 megawatts of dependable generating capacity. Through 159 locally owned distributors, TVA provides power to about 8.8 million residents of the Tennessee Valley.

New Orleans, LA, 21 Jan 08: IPSM completed another successful trip to the AMS annual show this year in New Orleans. Over 100 visitors, current customers, and prospective clients stopped by to see what was new with IPSM and LEADS. The buzz around the booth was non-stop, as the IPSM team performed demos of our new LEADS On-Line capability, attended key meteorological lectures, discussed upgrades with current customers, and developed business relationships for the future. Be sure to check out some of the pictures of IPSM in action at AMS 2008 below (click to zoom). Thanks to everyone who helped make the show an overwhelming success! See you in Phoenix in 2009!

St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, 17 Dec 07: AMEC-Canada has signed up for 6-months of LEADS On-Line service.  AMEC meteorologists and decision-makers plan to use our state-of-the-art, web-based weather service to enhance forecasting support to their existing customer base, which spans the eastern and central portions of Canada.  AMEC is a international provider to the world's infrastructure, manufacturing and process industries.

Denver, Colorado, 28 Nov 07: IPSM has announced our 2008 factory LEADS user training course schedule. See the Training Page for more info and registration forms.

Warsaw, Poland, 5 Oct 07: IPSM finalized the upgrade of the Poland Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) LEADS system.  The software passed initial testing and, after one month of testing in the Warsaw office, is expected to be rolled out to all 9 regional forecasting offices and 9 airports around the country.  IPSM also provided LEADS 4.2 training for both forecasters and administrators.

Poland’s IMGW is the country’s National Weather Service, supervised by the Minister for the Environment.  The IMGW is responsible for weather forecasting, issuing weather observations, warnings, hydrological monitoring, water management and aviation weather support.  The IMGW has been a satisfied LEADS customer since 2002.

Goiania, Brazil, 5 Oct 07: IPSM has completed the installation and operational testing of a LEADS/Magellan system for the Sistema de Meteorologica e Hidrologia do Estado de Goias (SIMEGO) in central Brazil.  The system included a Magellan GOES satellite reception system, a LEADS 4.2 server/workstation combo, and integration with local NWP and DCP data.  A week-long LEADS training session was also provided to another extremely satisfied customer.

SIMEGO is part of a state-ran agency, which provides meteorological, climatological and hydrological forecasting and real-time readout information for the state of Goias.  SIMEGO is currently using their LEADS/Magellan system for these purposes, as well as NWP and hydrological research.

Macon, GA, 27 Sep 07: IPSM has finished the upgrade of the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) LEADS system this past week.  GFC upgraded from LEADS 3.4 to version 4.2.  Additionally, IPSM created over 100 custom products/scripts in support of their weather support mission.

GFC is a state-run agency, which uses their LEADS system for fire weather forecasting support throughout the state of Georgia.  GFC is a long-time customer of IPSM and is thrilled to be using their upgraded system!

Panama City, Panama, 21 Sep 07:  IPSM has completed the upgrade of the Panama Canal’s LEADS 3.4 system to version 4.2.  This installation included upgrading the Panama Canal’s hardware, updating their software version, realigning their existing NOAAPort dish, and integrating local DCP data.  Additionally, upgrade training was performed. 

The Panama Canal Authority utilizes their state-of-the-art LEADS system to monitor weather conditions in/around the canal, as well as forecast water levels for use in the canal’s locks.  The canal sees over 40 vessels pass through each day.

Memphis, TN 28 Aug 07: After a two year courtship, and a very arduous test and evaluation phase, FedEx contracted with IPSM to install the LEAD/LEADS On-Line system to support their meteorological operations.  The installation included two NOAAPort systems, a GOES East/GOES West system, a full LEADS 5.1 system and the innovative LEADS On-Line web site.  FedEx has renamed their web site to WINDS (Weather Information Display System).

Full integration with FedEx systems is ongoing, and the system is expected to be fully operational by 1 Nov 07.  FedEx is an international air courier with over 275,000 employees.