High-resolution, Level II weather radar data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEXRAD radar system, and a full suite of associated value-added products, are now available through a partnership between Baron Advanced Meteorological Systems (BAMS) and the Education and Research Consortium (ERC). These services will include both real-time and archived data made available through cooperation with the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina. The United States Department of Commerce announced on April 13, 2004 that the National Weather Service would begin distributing the Level II data through the state-of-the-art ERC MetaPop located in their mission-critical facility in Asheville, North Carolina. The new ERC capability will retransmit the Level II data to the private sector as well as education and research institutions, bringing dramatic improvement to the process of utilizing the nation's weather radar data. The ERC will also provide back-up data service to the National Weather Service and select research universities. "This new and exciting partnership between BAMS and the ERC will increase the real-time availability and widespread use of Level II data across the nation, including access to historical radar data and value-added products," said Dr. Max Lennon, president of Education and Research Services of the ERC. BAMS is a subsidiary of Baron Services, Inc., based in Huntsville, AL. Baron Services is the international leader in providing site-specific, real-time weather data, products and services, and brings over a decade of experience in providing cutting-edge weather data, technology and innovation to the partnership with ERC. BAMS performs high level meteorological forecasting, research and development activities for local, state, federal and international agencies as well as private sector industries, and is relocating its operational headquarters to Asheville, NC. "The combination of the BAMS experience and expertise, along with the ERC's outstanding facilities for broadband communications and high performance computing, enables a powerful partnership that will provide customers with a redundant, mission-critical, real-time and archive source of NEXRAD Level II data, along with a complete complement of related meteorological data and forecast products," said Dr. Greg Wilson, president of Baron Advanced Meteorological Systems. "Customers will also have access to broadband communication and data transmission services, along with high performance computing and co-location services." The Baron/ERC capability will utilize recent advances in radar and communication technology that will allow, for the first time, the entire NEXRAD radar data stream to be acquired, communicated, processed and distributed to customers in real-time for operational and archive purposes. Service provisions, in cooperation with the NCDC in Asheville, NC, will ensure highly reliable and cost effective data service, secure from natural disaster risks, that are required to support the nearly one-third of the US economy that is weather sensitive. Visit www.ercwc.org or www.baronams.com for more information. BAMS, a spin-off of North Carolina's MCNC Environmental Modeling Center, began operations in January 2003. Acquired by Baron Services, Inc., the company consists of four meteorologists, two computer scientists, and an environmental scientist, along with support staff. Currently headquartered in the North Carolina Supercomputing Center, BAMS uses some of the world's most powerful computers to produce its forecasts. BAMS mission is to provide the most accurate, site-specific forecasts of meteorology and hydrology in the world. People experience weather locally; you need information specific to your location to guide your decisions -- whether for recreation, business, or emergency planning and management. Baron Services, Inc. serves broadcasters, major industry, public utilities and emergency management agencies as a full service provider of real-time, localized weather forecasting products and Doppler radar. Baron Services operates out of Huntsville, Alabama with auxiliary offices in Oklahoma and Florida. They hold numerous patents for the detection and dissemination of severe weather information. As an aggressive innovator of new technologies, Baron Services offers a complete suite of weather monitoring and display systems that continue to lead the market in the detection and communication of significant weather events.