1 INTRODUCTION

The Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast System (ATCF ™) is a software application developed by Naval Research Laboratory, Marine Meteorology Division that provides a toolkit to assist the tropical cyclone (TC) forecaster and to automate and streamline the TC forecast process. The ATCF system is an interactive forecast application that directly addresses the specialized functionality needed to allow forecasters to efficiently prepare the necessary products for the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). A modified version is also used by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the TC forecasting arm of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). ATCF is provided in two forms: a dedicated application installed on the user’s computer, and a web-based version with essentially the same functionality but an insignificant local footprint.

The ATCF system represents an on-going DoD/NOAA effort. The system is interconnected between DoD and NOAA sites (e.g. JTWC and NHC) and allows agencies to share TC data in a real-time mode on a common framework. The ATCF system is a uniquely specialized system and is used by the U.S. Navy and NOAA to safeguard civilian and military assets with timely TC warnings and advisories.

This manual provides an introduction to the ATCF system itself, a quick reference guide for the most common ATCF tasks and functions, and an in-depth reference for all of the ATCF menus and functions.

1.1 The ATCF Application

To launch the ATCF application from a dedicated installation, click on the ATCF icon on the desktop. To launch WebATCF, navigate to the ATCF site at NRL MMD and select one of the options presented (note that some of these may be restricted to authorized IP addresses). In either case, you will then see the ATCF main window:

$Description: Pictures\ATCF_Opening_Screen.png$

ATCF Main Window

This window includes a Menu Bar at the top, which contains the main menus for ATCF, a set of zoom control buttons and a Sidebar on the left side that allow quick access to commonly used functions, and a map window (also called the storm window), which on startup shows the full world map. The Sidebar contains commonly used functions from the main menu, and is intended to streamline common tasks.