NOAA computer backup will be in W.Va.

A powerful and critical backup system for the nation's weather forecasting supercomputer will be installed at the NASA complex in Fairmont. "The calculations that it makes are the basis for all of the service's weather forecasts. Lives and property depend on the reliable operation of this high-performance system,'' said Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who announced the $7.14 million project Thursday with Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va. Mollohan serves on the House panel that funds the National Weather Service through its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He said the system must be protected from equipment failure brought on by natural or human causes. The backup computer will be located at NASA's Independent Verification & Validation center in the I-79 Technology Park. That facility's main role is to analyze and test software used in NASA missions.