AWIPS 18.1.1-5 is a major update to both CAVE and EDEX, including a security update to the latest httpd/mod_wsgi packages.

• EDEX administrators should be aware that localization levels have changed, and Unidata AWIPS no longer supports REGION, DESK, or WORKSTATION levels.
• EDEX administrators should be aware that USER-level localization names have been merged with the WORKSTATION name, that is, what used to be USER awips will now be USER awips@<workstation name>.
• It may be required that EDEX admins migrate saved USER procedures and bundles to the new naming system, which may be tedious, but is necessary for use of CAVE in a classroom and lab setting going forward. This update prevents users from overwriting each other's customizations if they happen to have the same username.

Unidata AWIPS 17.1.1-6 is a minor release with the following changes:

• WarnGen bug fixes: for practice sessions, the WarnGen app no longer uses JMS to send/verify messages between client and server, instead sending the generated message directly to a TextWS window for editing, keeping everything client-side.
• postgis update to 2.4.4 to fix segfault signal 11 when WarnGen requests EDEX PostgreSQL to create coverage area geometries.
• geos update to 3.6.2.
• gdal update to 2.2.4.
• proj update to 5.1.0.
• postgresql and psql update to 9.5.13 to account for new versions of postgis, gdal, and proj, and to remove the geos dependency.
• shapely update to 1.6.4 after geos dep update to 3.6.2.
• NCP Resource Manager cleanup of unused resources (Linux only).
• Removed NSHARP D2D dependency on PGEN shapes.

Unidata AWIPS 17.1.1-5 is now available for Red Hat/CentOS 6/7 and macOS. Unidata AWIPS is a meteorological display and analysis package originally developed by the National Weather Service and Raytheon, repackaged by Unidata to support non-operational use in research and education.

Unidata AWIPS 17.1.1 is now available for Red Hat/CentOS 6/7 and macOS. Please see the AWIPS User Manual for installation instructions: http://unidata.github.io/awips2/

This is a major release which includes support for GOES-16(R) ABI and GLM and a retooling of WarnGen for non-operational use.

This year's annual American Meteorological Society meeting, was held January 22-26 in Seattle, Washington. We were happy to see many of the Unidata community members participating in the meeting at our booth in the exhibit hall, and to meet so many prospective community members at the AMS Student Conference.

With so much going on at the conference, we can't cover everything here. Instead, we present some highlights as recalled by UPC staff members who attended.