Emily Berndt (ST11) and collaborators from Science and Technology Corporation, Nadia Smith and Chris Barnet, developed a methodology to process NASA Aqua AIRS satellite sounding retrievals in real-time to enable rapid delivery of NASA observations to National Weather Service forecasters. The manuscript "Integrating NASA Aqua AIRS in a Real-Time NUCAPS Science-To-Applications System to Support Severe Weather Forecasting" is published in a Special Collection on 'Twenty Years of Observations from AIRS (https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002725). Development of NUCAPS-Aqua described in the manuscript includes preservation of microwave observations and calculation of a-priori regression coefficients and the real-time processing and challenges with implementing a science-to-applications system are discussed. Two illustrative pre-convective forecasting examples analyzed by NWS forecasters during the 2022 HWT Spring Experiment are highlighted to demonstrate the benefit of NUCAPS-Aqua as (a) special afternoon soundings, (b) an additional observation to assess temporal trends using multiple satellites, and (c) a complement to observational and model analysis. The development of NUCAPS-Aqua presents an opportunity to meet SPoRT user needs for more satellite soundings. In addition, qualitative assessments that utilize multiple satellites enable preparation for NASA/NOAA JPSS-2 and the future Geo-XO mission.
