US-FED-00000396524 - Commercial Cloud-to-Ground (CG) Lightning Data Feed - Deadline October 23,2026

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICEEnd User: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS)Requirement: Commercial Cloud–to–Ground (CG) Lightning Data FeedNAICS Code: 518210 Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services ($40.0M Small Business Size Standard)1. DISCLAIMER & GENERAL INFORMATIONThis 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 SUMMARYThe NWS requires continuous, real–time commercial CG lightning telemetry delivered via automated electronic data streams (AES–128 binary encrypted). The data feed must directly ingest into NWS operational forecasting infrastructure, including the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), Centralized Integrated Real–Time Repository for Unified Services (CIRRUS), and Multi–Radar/Multi–Sensor (MRMS) decision–support models.Key operational requirements include:Scope & Event Classification: Continuous detection and classification of CG flashes and return strokes across designated CONUS and OCONUS geographic zones. Probability of false flash/stroke type identification shall not exceed 5% for known CG events, with no more than 1% (CONUS) to 5% (OCONUS) false detections from non–lightning causes.Technical Performance Metrics:Location Accuracy: 1 km for 99% of the CONUS coverage zone (reported to 0.0001° latitude/longitude or better); 25 km for 99% of OCONUS zones (23 km for Alaska and Hawaii).Timing Accuracy: Reported to 0.001 seconds (milliseconds) or better.Detection Efficiency: 95% or higher over CONUS (70% over adjacent land/marine areas); 70% or higher OCONUS (80% over majority of AK and HI).Telemetry Data: Polarity (positive/negative with 99% accuracy CONUS / 90% OCONUS), estimated peak current in amperes (error 15% CONUS / 25% OCONUS), and strokes per flash (multiplicity).Delivery & Archiving Standards: Continuous Secure Shell TCP/IP streaming data and 1–minute encrypted packets (AES–128 binary) delivered to the NWS Telecommunications Gateway (NWSTG) within 1 minute or less of detection (2 minutes or less OCONUS). Level I data must be made available for archiving at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and NWS Meteorological Development Laboratory (MDL)3. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTSInterested 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, UEI, CAGE Code, GSA Schedule Contract Number (if applicable), Business Size/Socioeconomic Status under NAICS 518210, and Primary Point of Contact (Name, Email, Phone).