Brief descriptions of the products are below, and they imply some reasons for using this information with caution. Long term verification statistics are not yet available for international forecast products derived from NOAA's Global Forecast System. A limited amount of quality control is exercised on the international surface data, and contoured analyses of these data are drawn by computer only.

Cloud temperatures derived from the Insat and GMS satellites are displayed in this single image and 24-hour loop. Cooler cloud temperatures are shown in yellow/red while warmer clouds appear in blue. Colder cloud temperatures generally indicate heavier precipitation. Updated hourly.

The latest weekly total precipitation forecast graphic from the NOAA Global Forecast System meteorological model is shown. In general, the model has a slight tendency to overestimate rainfall and thus should be used with caution. Due to the relative coarseness of this model (37.5 kilometers lat/lon), it is best used as a regional guide rather than a localized forecast. Updated daily at approximately 11am Eastern.

Cyclone monitoring within the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Basins is an ongoing activity within the Climate Prediction Center Famine Early Warning System (FEWS-NET) project and is sponsored by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Data is obtained from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center so that graphical track and forecast paths may be produced daily (3pm Eastern).

Daily and weekly rainfall totals for the past seven days is taken from the NOAA CMORPH rainfall algorithm. This model, using satellites to estimate rainfall, has a general tendency to overestimate precipitation though its comparatively high resolution (8 kilometers lat/lon) lends to a more detailed analysis. The CMORPH algorithm uses a variety of satellite information sources as input, and yields rainfall estimates which do not rely on ground station data. Updated daily by 7pm Eastern.

Regional temperature analysis contours are derived from ground-based meteorological station data. NOAA's Joint Agriculture Weather Facility (JAWF) plots extreme minimum temperature, extreme maximum temperature, and temperature anomaly for the past seven day period Which are fed into computer contouring/analysis programs. Min/Max temperature plots represent the extreme temperatures encountered during the past week, obtained by 3-hourly observing ground-based stations. The temperature anomaly represents the average of all 3-hourly observations throughout the week compared to the historical average. Updated daily.

Rainfall forecasts for the next seven days are plotted from NOAA Global Forecast System meteorological model data. In general, the model has a slight tendency to overestimate rainfall and thus should be used with caution. Due to the relative coarseness of this model (37.5 kilometers lat/lon), it is best used as a regional guide rather than a localized forecast. Updated daily at approximately at 11am Eastern.

Heat Index (HI) is the temperature the body feels when heat and humidity are combined. Daily forecasts for the next seven days are created from NOAA's Global Forecast System model data. Note that due to data resolution limitations, local areas of extreme HI may not be captured. Due to the relative coarseness of this model (37.5 kilometers lat/lon), it is best used as a regional guide rather than a localized forecast. Updated daily at approximately 11am Eastern.

Approximate daily minimum temperature forecast for the next seven days are shown using data from the NOAA Global Forecast System model. Due to the relative coarseness of this model (37.5 kilometers lat/lon), it is best used as a regional guide rather than a localized forecast. Updated daily at approximately 11am Eastern.

Approximate daily maximum temperature forecast for the next seven days are shown using data from the NOAA Global Forecast System model. Due to the relative coarseness of this model (100 kilometers lat/lon), it is best used as a regional guide rather than a localized forecast. Updated daily at approximately 11am Eastern.

Daily rainfall forecasts for the next seven days as well as rainfall estimates from the past seven days have been converted to Geographical Information Systems format. This allows precipitation information to be added as an overlay in any GIS software (such as ArcView) that recognizes the GRID format. Consult the readme files for additional technical information. Updated daily at approximately: Forecasts-10pm Eastern; Estimates-4pm Eastern.