On Friday, March 28, 2014 the Unidata Program Center (UPC) updated the demonstration THREDDS Data Server (TDS) running on thredds.ucar.edu to version 4.5 of the TDS software. After encountering some issues with the updated version, including problems with community members' IDV bundles not loading as expected from thredds.ucar.edu, UPC staff reverted the demonstration server to version 4.3 on April 1st.

UPC staff had became aware that TDS version 4.3 running on thredds.ucar.edu was not keeping some dataset indices up to date automatically. This situation required manual intervention by UPC staff to keep the indices updated, which, coupled with changes in UPC security procedures following the intrusion on February 20, 2014, increased the urgency of releasing a new TDS version that fixed the problem. After internal testing convinced us that TDS version 4.5 was functioning properly, we followed the normal procedure of updating UPC servers (specifically thredds.ucar.edu) before releasing the package to other sites. This staged release process normally allows us to find and fix "real world" issues that are not caught by internal testing.

The National Weather Service/National Centers for Environmental Prediction is looking to hire a Data Flow Analyst to work in the production Management Branch (PMB) of NCEP Central Operations (NCO). The Dataflow Team is responsible for managing the incoming data to the NCEP's model suite, supporting several of the NCEP forecast centers, and then "getting all the data back out to the world." It's a fast-paced operational environment where team members get to serve the public every day.

The position is in College Park, MD. It will be open from Friday, April 04, 2014 to Friday, April 18, 2014.

Full details, including instructions regarding how to apply, are available at:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/366397300

Or, for those currently holding U.S. Government positions:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/366397700

Shortly after 0 UTC (18:00 MDT) on Saturday, March 21, 2014, the contents of the Internet Data Distribution FNEXRAD (NEXRAD Level III national composites) and UNIWISC (aka McIDAS Satellite Imagery Sectors) datastreams were updated with new products. Prior to the update, the FNEXRAD products were created on motherlode.ucar.edu and the UNIWISC products were created on unidata2.ssec.wisc.edu. Both datastreams are now being created in a 64-bit CentOS 6.5 Virtual Machine in the Amazon EC2 cloud.

Read on for a brief overview of the contents of each datastream with special emphasis on new or altered products.

The majority of data streams made available via the Internet Data Distribution (IDD) system currently remain available to Unidata community members despite the closing of US government facilities. As a UCAR facilitiy, the Unidata Program Center itself has not been directly affected by the shutdown, although if the budget impasse continues for more than a few weeks there could be reductions in staff time.

As of 2 October 2013, only one data stream normally available via the IDD is affected; a portion of the Suominet data that flows through NOAA servers (part of the CORS network) will be unavailable until the servers are restarted.

Currently, the CONDUIT data streams from NCEP are still functioning. We have not been notified about whether they will continue to operate.

UPC staff are currently unaffected and available for support questions and all normal activities.

The American Meteorological Society's Board on Data Stewardship will be organizing sessions on topics related to Data Stewardship at the 94th AMS Annual Meeting, which will take place 2-6 February 2014 in Atlanta, GA.

Deadline Extended — abstracts for the Data Stewardship sessions will now be accepted until is 15 August 2013.