News
NEWS
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Atlanta, GA, 25 Jan 2010: IPSM made yet another successful showing at the annual AMS show in January, this time held in Atlanta, GA. Visitors, business partners, and clients stopped by the booth throughout the week to check out demos of the latest LEADS and LEADS On-Line capabilities, and also saw our new Broadcast capabilities. IPSM networked with existing and potential customers, and forged new business relationships, keeping us poised as the industry leader for weather data integration and visualization. IPSM Program Managers Matt Taylor and Rich Stedronsky also gave presentations on some of IPSM's new, more advanced programs (http://ams.confex.com/ams/90annual/techprogram/paper_164553.htm and http://ams.confex.com/ams/90annual/techprogram/paper_164532.htm). Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed -- the show was an overwhelming success!
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Alcantara, Brazil, 14 Dec 2009: IPSM has just been awarded a contract to deliver a new LEADS / LEADS On-Line system to the Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA). This new system will consist of a clustered, high-availabilty LEADS / LEADS On-Line solution, which will ingest, process, and visualize numerous local, regional, and national meteorological data types from across the launch facility and Brazil. The CLA is a satellite launching base in the city of Alcântara, located on Brazil's northern Atlantic coast. It is currently operated by the Brazilian Air Force, and is the closest launching base to the equator, giving it a significant advantage in launching geosynchronous satellites. The CLA meteorologists will use their LEADS / LEADS On-Line system to support overall launch operations and resource protection for the entire facility. IPSM is scheduled to deliver the system in the spring of 2010.
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Brussels, Belgium, 23 Oct 09: IPSM has just completed, and successfully pass the Site Acceptance Test, for the Belgocontrol Weather Modernization Project, also known as Project METAFOR. Belgocontrol is the Belgium national air traffic control agency and is headquartered in near-proximity to the Brussels airport. Belgocontrol meteorological staff provide weather analysis and forecast services for aviation within Belgium and some surrounding airspace. Key services include low level significant weather products, a variety of text forecast bulletins, and an interactive webpage. IPSM installed the LEADS / LEADS On-Line workstations and servers to support Belgocontrol's critical operational workflow, web presence, training, and general weather environmental situational awareness. The LEADS / LEADS On-Line solution integrates weather observation and forecast data from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Czech Republic, and Belgium national forecast centers, as well as European Union Meteorological Satellite (EUMETSAT) direct data. With a single data processing, storage, visualization, and publishing system Belgocontrol is now able to more efficiently and reliably provide for the safety of their responsible airspace and resources. The delivered LEADS / LEADS On-Line systems includes advanced data visualization, web services, system monitoring, high-availability redundancy, and data archiving. IPSM looks forward to the continuous improvement of the METAFOR system to meet emerging requirements and the further expansion of LEADS systems into the European market.
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Taipei, Taiwan, 16 Oct 2009: IPSM has just completed, and successfully pass the Site Acceptance Test, for the CAF Weather Modernization Project, founded on an IPSM LEADS/LEADS On-Line solution. The delivered system includes a clustered, high-availablilty LEADS / LEADS On-Line installation, which processes CAF radar, satellite, lightning, A/N, GRIB, FGGE, and NetCDF data. A WAFS component was also delivered as part of this project, providing the CAF with key global model data from NCEP and high-level BUFR SIGWX charts. The system will be used by CAF meteorologist to support aviation and resource protection missions throughout the CAF's area of operations. The CAF's primary mission is to provide defense for the airspace in/around Taiwan against any possible form of attack.
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Bogotá, Colombia, 9 Oct 09: IPSM has just been awarded a contract to deliver an upgraded LEADS and LEADS On-Line system to Aerocivil in Colombia. IPSM will upgrade Aerocivil's current LEADS/GVAR system from version 4.2 to 5.4. This upgrade will include an entire new suite of hardware components, a new WAFS receiver, a new GVAR receiver, and a new LEADS On-Line web portal for product distribution and access by Aerocivil meteorological and management personnel. Aerocivil is a government agency under the Colombian Ministry of Transport, responsible for regulating and managing all Colombian airspace. Aerocivil is also responsible for controlling all of Colombia's public airports. IPSM is scheduled to complete the upgrade in early 2010.
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Englewood, CO, 2 Sept 2009: IPSM completed it's independent audit and officially earned ISO 9001:2008 certification, as dictated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
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Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 10 Aug 09: IPSM has just been awarded a contract to deliver a 4D-F weather toolkit to the US Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA). The primary focus of this project is proof of concept development of a toolset enabling operational AFWA forecasters in functional and regional forecast centers worldwide to acquire and process both sensed and gridded forecast information from deterministic and ensemble prediction systems and create a forecaster modified layer for specific weather parameters in near real time. The tools developed must accept and visualize gridded data fields, sensed data from meteorological sensors, weather surveillance radars, and meteorological satellites in real time at temporal scales between model time steps. Forecasters would employ advanced human-tomachine graphical interfaces to create a forecaster-in-the-loop (FITL) or forecaster-over-the-loop (FOTL) digital information layer in a fused four dimensional forecast database (4D-F). The 4D-F database is a digital information layer that will be employed for the creation of standard forecast visualizations and provide the authenticated machine-to machine (M2M) data feed to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and populate legacy web interfaces for machine to human communications. The initial proof of concept delivery will take place in early 2010.
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Wallops Island, VA, 19 May 09: IPSM meteorologists just completed a highly successful visit to the NASA-Wallops Island Launch Facility, supporting the TACSAT-3 mission. Successfully launched on 19 May, TACSAT-3 is the third in a series of U.S. military reconnaissance satellites managed by the USAF. IPSM's support for this mission was two-fold; Weather Office Augmentee and Blasts & Toxics Meteorologist. The IPSM Weather Office Augmentee worked hand-in-hand with the Wallops Island Launch Weather Officer to provide timely and accurate weather updates to Launch Control, Range Safety, and the NASA Program Manager throughout the planning and countdown phases of the mission. The IPSM Blasts & Toxics Meteorologist provided numerous weather forecast inputs to the Risk Assessment Center, which used that data to produce toxic plume and blast output visualizations. These plume and blast model outputs determine where the rocket exhaust plumes will drift and how long it will take for them to disperse. At the core of all these support operations were the latest versions of IPSM's LEADS and LEADS On-Line software. Products from these systems were used across all aspects of weather operations for TACSAT-3, providing integrated weather tools for all levels of launch support and decision-making. IPSM looks forward to continuing our long, solid working relationship with NASA-Wallops Island, and congratulates them on a successful launch!
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Bogotá, Colombia, 27 Apr 09: IPSM, in cooperation with our Colombian partners at Unicom Ltda., have successfully completed the installation of a new LEADS + Magellan satellite reception and visualization system and the Colombian Air Force (FAC) operations center. The new system is receiving GOES-12 GVAR data, processing the data into imagery, and then exporting images for use on the FAC's weather website. The installation was an overwhelming success and IPSM looks forward to continued business with the FAC in the future.
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Englewood, CO, 27 Mar 2009: IPSM's newest South American customer, the Colombian Air Force (FAC), just completed a rigorous 3 week training course at the IPSM factor in Colorado. 5 FAC students attended 15 days of classes, focusing on the basics of satellite meteorology, and cloud type observations and identification. Additionally, all of the satellite meteorology training was then integrated to a LEADS Basic Users Course, where students used the IPSM LEADS system to apply these new skills in simulated operational scenarios. This training, as part of the FAC's recent purchase of a LEADS/Magellan GOES-12/GVAR Satellite Reception System, will be followed by system installation and administrator's training in Bogotá, Colombia in mid-April.
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Englewood, CO, 22 Jan 2009: IPSM, in cooperation with our partner GEC Lt.d. of Taiwan, has officially been selected as the weather data integrator and visualizer for the Taiwan Air Force (CAF) weather modernization project. IPSM will deliver a LEADS 5.4 system, including our state-of-the-art LEADS On-Line web portal, to consolidate and update the CAF's current weather systems. The CAF will use their new LEADS/LEADS On-Line solution to integrate various radar, satellite, NWP, lightning, and A/N data types, in order to generate forecast products for CAF operations. The system is scheduled for installation this summer.
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Phoenix, AZ, 21 Jan 2009: IPSM made another successful showing at the 2009 AMS show in Phoenix, Arizona. Visitors, business partners, and clients stopped by the booth throughout the week to check out demos of the latest LEADS and LEADS On-Line capabilities, and also saw the latest additions to our aviation, radar, and model products. IPSM networked with existing and potential customers, and forged new business relationships, keeping us poised as the industry leader for weather data integration and visualization. Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed -- the show was an overwhelming success!
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Englewood, CO, 5 Jan 2009: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just completed the review of IPSM's application to become a Qualified Internet Communications Provider (QICP). IPSM is now listed as a certified QICP on the FAA website. The QICP certification process was established by the FAA to allow weather vendors the ability to provide meteorological data via the public Internet. Established standards must be met in order for a weather vendor to receive QICP approval. Three standards must be met in order to receive QICP approval and status: network infrastructure reliability, accessibility, and security. The FAA grants QICP approval based on system integrity and transmission of data (e.g. accuracy, timeliness) only, not the quality of a vendor's weather content and/or data.
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Glen Allen, VA, 21 Nov 2008: Dominion Energy has signed up for IPSM's advanced LEADS On-Line weather decision support service. Dominion meteorologists, commodities traders, and decision-makers plan to use our state-of-the-art, web-based service to enhance forecasting support to their existing customer base, which spans the eastern United States. Headquartered in Richmond, VA, Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 26,500 megawatts of generation and 7,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also operates the nation's largest underground natural gas storage system with about 950 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 11 states.
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Englewood, CO, 3 Nov 2008: IPSM has joined the National Weather Association (NWA) as it's newest Corporate Member. The NWA is a member-led, all inclusive, non-profit, professional association supporting and promoting excellence in operational meteorology and related activities since 1975. Members have many opportunities to share information, news, studies and concerns related to operational meteorology and related activities through committee work, submitting correspondence or articles to NWA publications, making presentations or leading workshops at the Annual Meeting, and to network with great people in a wide variety of careers (from well-known senior professionals to weather enthusiasts). IPSM looks forward to bringing it's wealth of knowledge and expertise in the fields of operational meteorology, aviation meteorology, remote sensing, education, information technology, and weather analysis and forecasting to the NWA team.
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Bogotá, Colombia, 22 Oct 08: IPSM, in cooperation with our partner Unicom Ltda. of Colombia, has officially won a contract to install a GOES-12/GVAR weather satellite direct receive system into the Colombian Air Force (FAC) headquarters in Bogotá. The IPSM Magellan/LEADS system solution will allow FAC forecasters to process, display, and analyze GOES-12/GVAR weather satellite data for use in supporting overall military aviation and resource protection operations. FAC users will also be able to integrate the GOES-12/GVAR imagery produced by the Magellan/LEADS system with other current systems, increasing overall situational awareness for leaders and decision-makers. Additionally, IPSM will host a contingent of FAC forecasters for a 2-week satellite meteorology course as part of this project.
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Denver, CO, 15 Oct 08: IPSM, in cooperation with Weather Decision Technologies, Inc. (WDT), has officially launched our new US Air Force (USAF) Weather Radar Nowcast capability on LEADS On-Line to the meet critical near-term severe weather forecasting requirements of the USAF and Army. This advanced integration of WDT’s MAPLE Forecast Radar and real-time Level II storm data, coupled with IPSM’s industry leading LEADS On-Line web tools, is being provided to all US-based Operational Weather Squadrons (OWS). The OWS’s are responsible for USAF weather forecasting and warfighter support. Our development team worked closely with WDT scientists to rapidly develop and deploy this new functionality. The new radar data looper allows users to view past, current, and forecasted weather radar in one integrated display. Furthermore, IPSM has crafted this entirely web-based tool to toggle on/off and mouse over for more detail severe storm indicators (TVS, Hail Triangles, Strom Tracks, NWS WWA, etc) derived from the multiple sources and advanced algorithms. The USAF is undergoing a 4-month trial of this new service to determine how it can enhance their overall forecasting and resource protection operations. This service is available immediately, as well, to commercial customers that have a high degree of sensitivity to impending severe weather events. For a trial of this service for your operations register on our website at: http://nowcast.meteostar.com,
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São Paulo, Brazil, 25-29 Aug 08: IPSM, in cooperation with our Brazilian Partner SIMTECH, hosted a booth at the 2008 Brazilian Meteorological Congress show in São Paulo, Brazil. Over 1000 meteorologists, hydrologists and environmental scientists from around Brazil and South America attend the show. Current IPSM/SIMTECH customers, as well as many new, prospective clients, stopped by to see what was new with IPSM and LEADS. The activity around the booth was constant, as the IPSM team performed demos of our new LEADS On-Line capability, while also discussing upgrades for current customers. Be sure to check out some of the pictures of IPSM in action below (click to zoom).
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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.
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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.
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Englewood, CO, 27 Jun 08: IPSM, in conjunction with the National Weather Service (NWS) and the University Cooperation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) of Boulder, Colorado, hosted over 25 international hydrology students during a recent visit to Colorado. While at the IPSM facilities, the students learned about the IPSM LEADS product line, met with key hydrological nowcasting modelers, and discussed the overall impacts of hydrology on the global scene. Click here for the full press release with all the details.
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Huntsville, AL, 19 Jun 08: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has signed up for 6-months of LEADS On-Line service. MDA meteorologists and decision-makers plan to use our state-of-the-art, web-based weather service to enhance forecasting support to their missile launch operations. MDA, part of the U.S. Department of Defense, is working to develop and field an integrated, layered, ballistic missile defense system to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies, and friends against all ranges of enemy ballistic missiles in all phases of flight.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 17 Mar 08: IPSM hosted a booth at the Air Traffic Control (ATC) Global 2008 show in Amsterdam on 11-13 March. The ATC Global 2008 Exhibition featured global suppliers of ATC/ATM products and services including ATC Towers, Software, Displays, Voice & Data-Link Communications, Meteorological Equipment, Surveillance Systems, Lighting, Navigational Aids, Ground Handling, Data Networks, Environmental Monitoring, Meteorology Support, Training, etc. IPSM demonstrated our LEADS and LEADS On-Line ATC/aviation weather support solutions to over 50 visitors, current clients and potential new customers.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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. |
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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.
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