Commercial Total Lightning (TL) Data Feed

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

End User: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS)

Requirement: Commercial Total Lightning (TL) Data Feed

NAICS Code: 518210 – Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services ($40.0M Small Business Size Standard)

1. DISCLAIMER & GENERAL INFORMATION

This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for market research, information, and planning purposes in accordance with FAR Part 10. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ), or a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract. The NWS is not seeking proposals or quotes at this time and will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in responding to this notice.

Responses will be used by the NWS to evaluate potential sources, determine levels of competition, and assess set-aside opportunities under GSA Multiple Award Schedules or open-market commercial procedures.

2. REQUIREMENT SUMMARY

The NWS requires continuous, real-time commercial Total Lightning (TL) data delivered via automated electronic data streams (AES-128 binary encrypted). The total lightning dataset includes both Cloud Flash (CF / In-Cloud / Intra-Cloud / Cloud-to-Air) and Cloud-to-Ground (CG) lightning events. The feed must directly ingest into NWS operational decision-support infrastructure managed by NWS Central Processing, including the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), Centralized Integrated Real-Time Repository for Unified Services (CIRRUS), and Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor (MRMS) models to support severe weather warning operations, Aviation Weather Center (AWC) corridor tracking, Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Lightning Jump algorithms, and Incident Meteorologist fire weather operations.

Key operational requirements include:

Scope & Event Classification: Real-time detection and classification of Total Lightning (TL) including Cloud Flashes (CF) and Cloud-to-Ground (CG) events. CF pulses/events must define vertical and horizontal extent (including estimated In-Cloud height up to 20 km with ~500 m accuracy) to evaluate convective potential. Probability of false flash type identification shall not exceed 20%, with no more than 2% false detections from non-lightning causes.

Technical Performance Metrics:

• Location Accuracy: 2 km for 99% of the area within the designated geographic coverage zone.
• Timing Accuracy: Reported to 0.001 seconds (milliseconds) or better (UTC with microsecond resolution desired for event/pulse timestamps).
• Detection Efficiency: 60% or higher for over 90% of the 48 contiguous states; >50% over Hawaii and southern Alaska.
• Telemetry Data: Polarity (positive/negative), peak current in amperes for CG or peak radiated field normalized to 30 km for IC lightning, stroke/pulse count per flash (multiplicity), IC height in kilometers, and number of sensors utilized (5 to 25 sensors).

Delivery & Archiving Standards: Continuous Secure Shell TCP/IP streaming data and 1-minute encrypted combination packets (AES-128 binary) containing flash and pulse sub-packets delivered to the NWS Telecommunications Gateway (NWSTG) within 1 minute or less of detection for dissemination over NOAAPORT/SBN. Level I streaming data must be made available for archiving at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and NWS Meteorological Development Laboratory (MDL).

3. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

Interested vendors capable of meeting the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW) are requested to submit a concise Capability Statement (maximum 5 pages) providing the following:

Company Profile: Company Name, Address, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), CAGE Code, GSA Schedule Contract Number (if applicable), Business Size/Socioeconomic Status under NAICS 518210, and Primary Point of Contact (Name, Title, Email, Phone).

Technical Capabilities: A detailed description of your commercial ground-based lightning detection network, broad-spectrum/high-frequency sensing methods, pulse/event grouping algorithms, spatial location and IC height accuracy metrics, and delivery protocols for continuous real-time TL data streams.

Operational Experience: Summary of relevant federal or commercial contracts delivering real-time broad-spectrum total lightning feeds into severe weather decision-support systems, aviation corridor tracking platforms, or automated severe storm prediction algorithms.

Market Feedback: Identification of any technical challenges, operational risks, or recommendations regarding the draft SOW requirements or NAICS classification.

Submissions must be delivered electronically in PDF or Microsoft Word format to Paul Thomas at paul.thomas@noaa.gov no later than October 23, 2026 at 1300 hours ET.

All proprietary, confidential, or sensitive trade secret data included in submissions must be clearly marked. The Government will protect properly marked proprietary information from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with statutory regulations.