A spatial decision support system for radar-meteorology data in South Africa

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) operates a nationwide network of
ground-based meteorologic radar stations (National Weather Radar Network),
providing data continuity in some regions dating back to 1994, which is unique
for southern africa.
The incoming data is processed and archived using the TITAN software
package[1]. Thematic digital maps are derived which can be accessed through the
METSYS internet presence [2].
During the course of a soil erosion assesment study [3] GRASS was introduced to
the former SAWS radar research center (now: METSYS) in 1999. It was realized
that a general purpose geographic information system can offer significant
advantages over a specialized radar data management system for creating valueadded
products for the customers.
GRASS is still used for meteorologic research by METSYS today and remains the
GIS of choice because it being FreeSoftware and linux-based.