Official websites use .gov
A
.gov website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A
lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
General Information and News
Being a person that likes overlaying multiple images, I found overlaying the Visible Satellite with the GOES-R LAP CAPE product (transparency of 50%) to be useful in situational awareness. Putting the data into a loop provided an easy way to view the increasing instability over eastern Kansas under clear skies and where dewpoints were rising from the upper 50s to the lower 60s. -SRF Note: It looks like you need to click on the image to see the loop.
Was hoping to use the Convective Initiation (CI) product closer to the area in eastern Kansas, but unfortunately cirrus in the area limited the ability to use the product. The first image below (1730Z Visible Satellite) indicates the product was trying to indicate convection development, but then cirrus really started to contaminate the area and led to no highlights as the convection started to develop (middle image at 1830Z). The bottom image (1900Z) shows more mature convection on visible satellite. -SRF
As always, the first order of business when you’re working at a new office or AWIPS system – build build build! Currently working on procedures and my personal favorite, custom color tables. If I was thinking ahead I would’ve brought some from home.
One of the color tables I always change: CAPE. The default “gridded data” color table that AWIPS loves so much just doesn’t fit well.
Before: 
That magenta really stands out, as if I really care about areas of zero CAPE.
After:
Much better! I did something similar for the Lifted Index: making everything above about 2C transparent.
Now back to the real fun: convection blowing up in my CWA Du Jour (Midland, TX) and clearing AlertViz banner after AlertViz banner.
-V. Darkbloom
After taking 20+ plus minutes looking through all of the data, I found several useful products but unfortunately there is limited uses in my area (OAX). Thus far, mainly seeing rain across the region with some thunderstorms starting to develop to the south in eastern Kansas.
-SRF
A quick glance at the surface obs and SPC mesoanlyses indicates a weak boundary located across the Topeka CWA, stretching WSW to ENE.
GOES-R layer CAPE indicates the sharp instability gradient across the CWA with CAPE near 1300 J/KG for southeastern counties (Coffey/Anderson/Franklin) with a few hundredths of CAPE for the northwestern counties where weak showers/thunderstorms pushed through the area earlier today. Convective Initiation suggests low probability of formation moving into the south-central portions.
KTWX radar indicates weak convection across Dickinson county with minimal lightning activity (less than 5-7 flashes/min and 1-2 CGs over the past 30 mins). These storms have greater potential for future development as they move east towards greater instability as noted in the GOES-R products.
Brick Tamland
My first ever blog. Figures…it’s about wx.
The Surface parcel Lifted Index is in Kelvin. Please change the units to Dec C!
Several experiments to improve National Weather Service severe weather warnings will be conducted this spring in the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) as part of the annual Experimental Warning Program, a joint project of the National Weather Service and NSSL/CIMMS to support NOAA’s goal to evolve the National Weather Service and build a Weather-Ready Nation.The EWP’s Spring Warning Project will run from May 4 through June 12, and provides a conceptual framework and a physical space to foster collaboration between research and operations to test and evaluate emerging technologies and science.
Forecasters will evaluate an updated Lightning Jump Algorithm (LJA), based on the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper, that was enhanced based on feedback from forecasters participating in the 2014 program. In severe storms, rapid increases in lightning flash rate, or “lightning jumps,” typically precede severe weather such as tornadoes, hail, and straight line winds at the surface by tens of minutes. These evaluations will help prepare for possible operational implementation in 2016 following the launch of GOES-R.
Earth Networks’ total lightning and total lightning derived products, including storm-based flash rates tracks, time-series, and three levels of thunderstorm alerts will be evaluated in real time, building upon the initial evaluation in 2014. The 2015 evaluation will test the feasibility of use and performance under the stress of real-time warning operations.
A new set of high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) models will serve as a prototype for developing the “Warn-on-Forecast” warning paradigm. Feedback from this project will go into developing new model tools capable of managing the large amounts of model information associated with future forecast systems.
During three weeks of the experiment, forecasters will assess a new tool using rapidly-updating high-resolution gridded Probabilistic Hazard Information (PHI) as the basis for next-generation severe weather warnings. This experiment is part of a broad effort to revitalize the NWS watch/warning paradigm known as Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats (FACETs). The major emphasis of the HWT PHI experiment will be on initial testing of concepts related to human-computer interaction while generating short-fused high-impact Probabilistic Hazard Information for severe weather. The long-term goal of this effort is to migrate the refined concepts and methodologies that result from this experiment into Hazard Services, the next generation warning tool for the NWS, for further testing and evaluation in the HWT prior to operational deployment.
This year will mark the inaugural HWT Experiment with Emergency Managers. The EMs will be provide feedback on their interpretation of experimental probabilistic forecasts generated in the HWT from the PHI experiment and the Experimental Forecast Program (EFP). This feedback will be used in conjunction with feedback from forecasters to refine how the uncertainty information is generated and disseminated.
– Prepared by Susan Cobb, NSSL
Monday 25 August 2014 begins the sixth and final week of our Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) Experiment. This experiment is a part of the 2014 NSSL-NWS Experimental Warning Program (EWP2014). This will conclude the 2014 experiments in the Hazardous Weather Testbed.
NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters will test how lightning data impacts the warning process during convective events in the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed. In particular, they will utilize Earth Networks’ “Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts” – which may increase forecaster situational awareness and lead times – during a series of warning scenarios in displaced real time. These events cover the gamut of atmospheric possibilities, ranging from marginally severe to significantly tornadic, and occur over a variety of locations. The final outcome of this project is to make recommendations on possible product improvements, and determine whether Earth Networks products should become part of the operational product suites available to NWS offices nationally. The ENTLN Experiment will be conducted in conjunction with Earth Networks and runs from 21 July to 29 August.
For the week of 25 – 29 August, our distinguished NWS guests will be Andrew Hatzos (WFO Wilmington, OH), Jason Jordan (WFO Lubbock, TX), and Joey Picca (WFO New York, NY), If you see these folks walking around the building, please welcome them! The National Severe Storms Laboratory (via the Sandy Supplemental) has generously provided travel stipends for our participants.
Kristin Calhoun and Darrel Kingfield are the project coordinators. Our support team also includes Matt Elliott, Tiffany Meyer, Daphne LaDue, Lans Rothfusz, Chris Karstens, Aaron Anderson, and Gabe Garfield.
You can learn more about the EWP here:
Gabe Garfield
Monday 18 August 2014 begins the fifth week of our Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) Experiment. This experiment is a part of the 2014 NSSL-NWS Experimental Warning Program (EWP2014).
NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters will test how lightning data impacts the warning process during convective events in the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed. In particular, they will utilize Earth Networks’ “Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts” – which may increase forecaster situational awareness and lead times – during a series of warning scenarios in displaced real time. These events cover the gamut of atmospheric possibilities, ranging from marginally severe to significantly tornadic, and occur over a variety of locations. The final outcome of this project is to make recommendations on possible product improvements, and determine whether Earth Networks products should become part of the operational product suites available to NWS offices nationally. The ENTLN Experiment will be conducted in conjunction with Earth Networks and runs from 21 July to 29 August.
For the week of 18 – 22 August, our distinguished NWS guests will be Stephen Hodanish (WFO Pueblo, CO), Gail Hartfield (WFO Raleigh, NC), and Nelson Vaz (WFO New York, NY), If you see these folks walking around the building, please welcome them! The National Severe Storms Laboratory (via the Sandy Supplemental) has generously provided travel stipends for our participants.
Kristin Calhoun and Darrel Kingfield are the project coordinators. Our support team also includes Matt Elliott, Tiffany Meyer, Daphne LaDue, Lans Rothfusz, Chris Karstens, Aaron Anderson, and Gabe Garfield.
You can learn more about the EWP here:
Gabe Garfield
2014 EWP Operations Coordinator
Monday 11 August 2014 begins the fourth week of our Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) Experiment. This experiment is a part of the 2014 NSSL-NWS Experimental Warning Program (EWP2014).
NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters will test how lightning data impacts the warning process during convective events in the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed. In particular, they will utilize Earth Networks’ “Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts” – which may increase forecaster situational awareness and lead times – during a series of warning scenarios in displaced real time. These events cover the gamut of atmospheric possibilities, ranging from marginally severe to significantly tornadic, and occur over a variety of locations. The final outcome of this project is to make recommendations on possible product improvements, and determine whether Earth Networks products should become part of the operational product suites available to NWS offices nationally. The ENTLN Experiment will be conducted in conjunction with Earth Networks and runs from 21 July to 29 August.
For the week of 11 – 15 August, our distinguished NWS guests will be David Glenn (WFO Newport, NC), Alexander Gibbs (WFO Peachtree City, GA), and Jonathan Kurtz (WFO Norman, OK), If you see these folks walking around the building, please welcome them! The National Severe Storms Laboratory (via the Sandy Supplemental) has generously provided travel stipends for our participants.
Kristin Calhoun and Darrel Kingfield are the project coordinators. Our support team also includes Matt Elliott, Tiffany Meyer, Daphne LaDue, Lans Rothfusz, Chris Karstens, Aaron Anderson, and Gabe Garfield.
You can learn more about the EWP here:
Gabe Garfield
CIMMS/NWS OUN
