Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS)

NOAA’s Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) is a comprehensive, centralized data integration system developed to collect, quality-control, and distribute real-time observational data from a wide range of in weather forecasting, climate research, and emergency response sources. Data from both NOAA and non-NOAA sources, such as surface weather stations, aircraft, radar, satellite, and ocean buoys, are decoded and then all of the observational data are encoded into a common format with uniform observation units and time stamps. Rigorous automated quality checks on all incoming data identify and flag anomalies or errors to allow users to inspect these data and decide whether to exclude them from analyses. As of March 2023, MADIS became fully operational under the management of the National Weather Service (NWS). Access to real-time and archived observational data plus real-time surface analyses grids is available via the online Data Application MADIS has played a key role in improving short-term weather forecasts, enhancing situational awareness during severe weather events, supporting climate monitoring, and aiding in transportation and public safety operations across the United States.