Department of Commerce · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · DEPT OF COMMERCE NOAA
Account requiredWhy it scored this way
Every reason behind the verdict rather than the headline one — which of your certifications match, how much runway is left, whether the work is your size, and what we would need to know to sharpen it.
The requirements that decide a bid — bonding, clearances, experience minimums, page limits — live in the attachments, not in the notice above. Start a free trial to upload them and have them read.
Draft the paperwork
Written against this notice and what you have told us about your company. Anything we do not know is marked [NEEDS INPUT] in the draft rather than guessed at — read it before you send it. Federal notices routinely put the real requirement in an attachment; adding the documents above makes every one of these materially better.
Start a free trial to draft these. Nothing is sent to an agency on your behalf, ever — you get a document to review, edit and submit yourself.
What would disqualify you
Read straight from the solicitation documents: the bonding, clearances, insurance minimums, experience thresholds and deadlines that decide whether you can bid at all — before you write a word.
Sources Sought response
A complete draft response — capability statement, relevant past performance, business size and socioeconomic status, and answers to the agency's specific questions.
Questions to submit
Genuine ambiguities and requirements that disadvantage a smaller bidder, drafted as questions you can submit before the Q&A deadline.
Past performance write-ups
Which of your prior awards best match this requirement, and draft write-ups in the format the agency asked for.
Solicitation details
Solicitation number
EAD_TL_DATA_FY27_SSN
Notice type
Special Notice
NAICS
518210
Product service code
DC10
Set-aside
Unrestricted
Posted
2026-10-09
Response deadline
Oct 23, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC
Contracting contact
paul.thomas@noaa.gov
Market intelligence
Account requiredWho wins this work, and what it pays
Comparable awards under NAICS 518210 at this agency — the incumbent, what they were paid, when their period of performance ends, and the real pricing distribution rather than the headline number. From public federal award records.
SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE End User: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS) Requirement: Commercial Total Lightning (TL) Data Feed NAICS Code: 518210 – Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services ($40.0M Small Business Size Standard) 1. DISCLAIMER & GENERAL INFORMATION This 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 SUMMARY The NWS requires continuous, real-time commercial Total Lightning (TL) data delivered via automated electronic data streams (AES-128 binary encrypted). The total lightning dataset includes both Cloud Flash (CF / In-Cloud / Intra-Cloud / Cloud-to-Air) and Cloud-to-Ground (CG) lightning events. The feed must directly ingest into NWS operational decision-support infrastructure managed by NWS Central Processing, including the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), Centralized Integrated Real-Time Repository for Unified Services (CIRRUS), and Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor (MRMS) models to support severe weather warning operations, Aviation Weather Center (AWC) corridor tracking, Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Lightning Jump algorithms, and Incident Meteorologist fire weather operations. Key operational requirements include: Scope & Event Classification: Real-time detection and classification of Total Lightning (TL) including Cloud Flashes (CF) and Cloud-to-Ground (CG) events. CF pulses/events must define vertical and horizontal extent (including estimated In-Cloud height up to 20 km with ~500 m accuracy) to evaluate convective potential. Probability of false flash type identification shall not exceed 20%, with no more than 2% false detections from non-lightning causes. Technical Performance Metrics: Location Accuracy: 2 km for 99% of the area within the designated geographic coverage zone. Timing Accuracy: Reported to 0.001 seconds (milliseconds) or better (UTC with microsecond resolution desired for event/pulse timestamps). Detection Efficiency: 60% or higher for over 90% of the 48 contiguous states; >50% over Hawaii and southern Alaska. Telemetry Data: Polarity (positive/negative), peak current in amperes for CG or peak radiated field normalized to 30 km for IC lightning, stroke/pulse count per flash (multiplicity), IC height in kilometers, and number of sensors utilized (5 to 25 sensors). Delivery & Archiving Standards: Continuous Secure Shell TCP/IP streaming data and 1-minute encrypted combination packets (AES-128 binary) containing flash and pulse sub-packets delivered to the NWS Telecommunications Gateway (NWSTG) within 1 minute or less of detection for dissemination over NOAAPORT/SBN. Level I streaming data must be made available for archiving at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and NWS Meteorological Development Laboratory (MDL). 3. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS Interested 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, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), CAGE Code, GSA Schedule Contract Number (if applicable), Business Size/Socioeconomic Status under NAICS 518210, and Primary Point of Contact (Name, Title, Email, Phone). Technical Capabilities: A detailed description of your commercial ground-based lightning detection network, broad-spectrum/high-frequency sensing methods, pulse/event grouping algorithms, spatial location and IC height accuracy metrics, and delivery protocols for continuous real-time TL data streams. Operational Experience: Summary of relevant federal or commercial contracts delivering real-time broad-spectrum total lightning feeds into severe weather decision-support systems, aviation corridor tracking platforms, or automated severe storm prediction algorithms. Market Feedback: Identification of any technical challenges, operational risks, or recommendations regarding the draft SOW requirements or NAICS classification. Submissions must be delivered electronically in PDF or Microsoft Word format to Paul Thomas at paul.thomas@noaa.gov no later than October 23, 2026 at 1300 hours ET. All proprietary, confidential, or sensitive trade secret data included in submissions must be clearly marked. The Government will protect properly marked proprietary information from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with statutory regulations.
Contact
Point of contact
Paul Thomas
Role
not stated on this notice — SAM publishes a role for only about 5% of them, so this may be a contract specialist rather than the contracting officer
Email
paul.thomas@noaa.gov
Submit questions
Ambiguities and requirements worth clarifying, written as questions you can send before the deadline.
Opens in your own mail client, addressed and with a subject line — you write the message. GovSprint never sends anything on your behalf.
Emails open in your mail client and are sent from your address, so the reply comes back to you and the exchange stays yours. Confirm the correct channel and any question deadline on the notice before sending — many solicitations require questions in a specific way.
