NWS website redesign

[phw115wvwx]

Let's keep this on topic, please.  I would expect a lot more NWS redesigns ahead as it's a long and involved process from what I can tell.

[WeatherWitness]

BUMP

Proposed changes to icons on NWS Point Forecast pages

What are everyone's thoughts on this?  I personally think it's a good idea and like the slightly modified look of the new icons.

[toxictwister00]

I like the current set of icons better.

[Mike M]

I like the new icons, and especially like the idea of highlighting days where weather advisories are in effect. They needed to redesign the icons after the forecast pages were updated. They don't match well, and they were also enlarged in the new format to a point where they are heavily pixelated.

[phw115wvwx]

I'm really glad those headlines are highlighted now, and I like seeing the changing weather conditions within a period.  However, dual icons with no space between them will be a problem until the public becomes familiar with it.  There is a learning curve with recognizing the new icons and combinations that may occur within a period, but I'm going to help you all now.   Here is a "before" and "after" page of the NWS icons based on all possible conditions that any METAR report could show along with any forecasts that could be made:

http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html

[WeatherWitness]

I'm really glad those headlines are highlighted now, and I like seeing the changing weather conditions within a period.  However, dual icons with no space between them will be a problem until the public becomes familiar with it.  There is a learning curve with recognizing the new icons and combinations that may occur within a period, but I'm going to help you all now.   Here is a "before" and "after" page of the NWS icons based on all possible conditions that any METAR report could show along with any forecasts that could be made:

http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html

Thanks for providing that link, Patrick.  I actually didn't know some of those icons existed, like the tornado and funnel cloud ones.  I wonder if an ASOS station has ever been able to report a tornado at the exact time the hourly observation was taken to display that icon?

Regardless of whether they do the split-icon thing and the highlighting of the alerts in effect, I really think they should switch to the new icon set, as they are just so much clearer than the old ones.  And I know the old ones were originally created for and used on the old NWS design and got pixelated when they became enlarged for use on the newly designed webpages.

I guess I only have problems with a couple of the icons.  For example, with the rain/snow, it's hard to tell that it's rain in the background since they overlay the icons and don't do the diagonal slash thing anymore.  I guess any new icon set will take a learning curve, but I do think they will be better in the long-run.

BTW, out of curiosity, does anyone know where they get these pictures from?  Some look computer-generated while others look like actual pictures taken by a professional that they must use.

[phw115wvwx]

I wonder if an ASOS station has ever been able to report a tornado at the exact time the hourly observation was taken to display that icon?

Only human observers manning an ASOS station can report funnel clouds (coded as FC) and tornadoes (coded as +FC), because there is no way the automated equipment can detect those things.  However, the NWS icons have to handle all possible conditions whether reported by automation or by human.

BTW, out of curiosity, does anyone know where they get these pictures from?  Some look computer-generated while others look like actual pictures taken by a professional that they must use.

I think it is a combination of both, but I have no idea who took them and how they were generated.  Regional and national headquarters create the NWS websites.  The WFOs have little control on the overall layout of the site and just make tweaks to their local office pages.

[Mike M]

Only human observers manning an ASOS station can report funnel clouds (coded as FC) and tornadoes (coded as +FC), because there is no way the automated equipment can detect those things.  However, the NWS icons have to handle all possible conditions whether reported by automation or by human.

Do human operated stations still ever report showers/rain showers (SHRA)? I haven't seen such a report from the manned stations since ~2005 or so.

[phw115wvwx]

Do human operated stations still ever report showers/rain showers (SHRA)? I haven't seen such a report from the manned stations since ~2005 or so.

I believe they still can although I can't recall seeing it either lately.  Classifying any precipitation as a shower is a judgment call on the observer based upon the character and duration.  It ends up being easier to simply use the default observation from the automated equipment, which will never show a shower.  Thus, the NWS shower icons are more than likely going to be used in the forecast portion rather than the current condition portion.

[texasstooge]

I'm really glad those headlines are highlighted now, and I like seeing the changing weather conditions within a period.  However, dual icons with no space between them will be a problem until the public becomes familiar with it.  There is a learning curve with recognizing the new icons and combinations that may occur within a period, but I'm going to help you all now.   Here is a "before" and "after" page of the NWS icons based on all possible conditions that any METAR report could show along with any forecasts that could be made:

http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/newicons/icons.html

Thanks for providing that link, Patrick.  I actually didn't know some of those icons existed, like the tornado and funnel cloud ones.  I wonder if an ASOS station has ever been able to report a tornado at the exact time the hourly observation was taken to display that icon?

Regardless of whether they do the split-icon thing and the highlighting of the alerts in effect, I really think they should switch to the new icon set, as they are just so much clearer than the old ones.  And I know the old ones were originally created for and used on the old NWS design and got pixelated when they became enlarged for use on the newly designed webpages.

I guess I only have problems with a couple of the icons.  For example, with the rain/snow, it's hard to tell that it's rain in the background since they overlay the icons and don't do the diagonal slash thing anymore.  I guess any new icon set will take a learning curve, but I do think they will be better in the long-run.

BTW, out of curiosity, does anyone know where they get these pictures from?  Some look computer-generated while others look like actual pictures taken by a professional that they must use.

I actually like the newer icons. It's basically a refreshed look to their current ones.

[Mike M]

Does anyone know what the status is on getting the the new format to go live throughout the NWS domain? My NWS office has pretty much abandoned the new format, as many links that went to the newly designed site are broken (just try clicking on the map here: http://www.weather.gov/erh/). Most of the weather.gov-based sites also redirect to the old erh/wrh/crh.noaa.gov domain, which still uses the old format. This is really getting old, as it should not take two years to do this. Patrick, as an employee of the NWS do you know anything about this? It seems as of they just abandoned this whole changeover. The SPC site is having this same issue and it's a mess now. If they are so adamant about getting things done then they need to finish them, not abandon them halfway through and come up with a different project that will encounter the same situation. Been an issue with them for years.

[phw115wvwx]

Does anyone know what the status is on getting the the new format to go live throughout the NWS domain? My NWS office has pretty much abandoned the new format, as many links that went to the newly designed site are broken (just try clicking on the map here: http://www.weather.gov/erh/). Most of the weather.gov-based sites also redirect to the old erh/wrh/crh.noaa.gov domain, which still uses the old format. This is really getting old, as it should not take two years to do this. Patrick, as an employee of the NWS do you know anything about this? It seems as of they just abandoned this whole changeover. The SPC site is having this same issue and it's a mess now. If they are so adamant about getting things done then they need to finish them, not abandon them halfway through and come up with a different project that will encounter the same situation. Been an issue with them for years.

You need to enter the new system from the national page first as that link you gave isn't completed.  Use http://www.weather.gov/ for now.  I was told that the new domain would launch sometime this spring, but I also know after working in the government for several years how slowly things progress.  Deadlines often get pushed back.  The reality is that the WFOs have no control here as it's all being handled by regional and national headquarters.

[beanboy89]

Today, I noticed that the NWS is now using ESRI maps on forecast pages, as opposed to Google Maps.

[WeatherWitness]

So this is kind of a random observation, but I'm pretty sure NWS changed the colors for freeze/hard freeze watches and warnings.  Didn't a hard freeze warning used to be a blue color, and the freeze warning was a teal color?  Now it's purple for hard freeze and a darker blue for freeze.  The watch colors have changed too.

This image has the new colors.  This link has the old colors.