JAWS - Joint Airport Weather Studies

The Jaws Project was a joint research and technology transfer effort of NCAR and the University of Chicago. The project began on October 1, 1981 and continued for three years. The principal focus of JAWS was on the convective microburst event, a small region of intense downflow and associated outflow which occurs in the convective boundary layer, usually, but not always, associated with thunderstorms. JAWS conducted research on the fine-scale structure of thunderstorm kinematics in the vicinity of Denver’s Stapleton International Airport during the summer of 1982. JAWS facilities included three NCAR Doppler radars, the Portable Automated Mesonet, or PAM, two research aircraft, three rawinsonde units, and a lightning detection system. During this project, close working relationships existed between JAWS, PROFS (NOAA’s Prototype Regional Observing and Forecasting Service), the FAA, DOD Next Generation Doppler Radar Program (NEXRAD) and NASA’s Office of Aviation Technology (OAST).