Gateway Communications
and the Washington Regional Telecommunication Hub
of the World Meteorological Organization

Welcome to the National Weather Service Telecommunication Gateway web site. This site contains information on meteorological data exchange, communication standards, switching practices, and meteorological data codes. The site also has information about communication recommended practices used in global data exchange. There is information on the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Manual 386 recommended practices that is not published in standard source documents. There is information that is difficult to find in general reference sources. The reference sources covered are WMO manuals and OFCM documents. The site is not a replacement for formal published documents. The material provided here may be removed without notice after standard reference materials are available.

Information about the Gateway is available on this web site. This information describes the basic architecture of the NWS Gateway central switching system. The access to data and products filed on the Gateway central server resources are described on the File/Web Services page. The Gateway central switching system also serves as the Washington Regional Telecommunication Hub (RTH) of the WMO Global Telecommunication System (GTS) for WMO Region IV. The WMO web page provides information on recommended communication practices and describes the functions of the RTH. The WMO recommended data exchange practices are covered under Data Switching topics. The pages describe the WMO abbreviated heading structure and contains GTS circuit diagrams. The message format and content structure are agreed upon through international recommended practices developed jointly by member Nations of the WMO.

The Gateway is on the Main Trunk Network (MTN) of the GTS. The Gateway has file servers that store forecast model products in GRIB code online. The files are not switched as WMO messages. They are available through the Gateway File/Web Services.

Documentation is available on the Gateway (Washington RTH) message handling procedures and message recognition practices. The U.S. National AWIPS data dissemination practice is also described on this web site. The content of exchanged messages is available at the WMO web server in Geneva. The master document is called Publication No. 9, Volume C1 or "The Catalogue of Meteorological Bulletins".

The Gateway (Washington RTH) related information on this web site includes :

• Identification of Products Received at and transmitted From The GATEWAY (Routing Directory Information)
• Meteorological Reporting Locations (Observational Site Information)
• The Gateway FTP/HTTP Services A "file access guide" that explains the Gateway data file access practices.
• The NWS Communications Header Policy Document (Identifier Policy) details the AWIPS Heading Structure & Relationships to the WMO abbreviated heading as defined in WMO Manual 386.

Additional information on National and International meteorological data exchange practices can be found on the following Web sites:

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM). This web site provides access to the Federal Meteorological Handbooks