Unisys, the global information technology company based in Blue Bell, has announced that the National Weather Service has extended its agreement to deliver real-time radar data to boost its weather forecasting capabilities.

Under the new contract, Unisys will continue to provide patented service offerings that bring together multiple sources of radar information into one, easy-to-use interface to allow meteorologists to detect severe weather earlier and more accurately. The contract is scheduled to run through September 2018.

Unisys has worked for more than 20 years to support the critical work of the National Weather Service, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Over that time, Unisys technology has helped the agency increase its capabilities to the point where it can predict severe weather incidents about a week ahead of time, instead of a day or two. Earlier detection leads to more accurate forecasts.

Work on the current contract is performed under the auspices of the National Centers for Environmental Protection (NCEP), part of the National Weather Service.

Under the new contract, Unisys will supply high-resolution mosaic radar data products to NCEP and its participating service centers, including the Storm Prediction Center, National Hurricane Center, Aviation Weather Center and Weather Prediction Center. This user-friendly, graphical data allows NCEP meteorologists to perform more complete forecasts and monitoring capabilities, all in real-time.