Deriving Total and Layered Precipitable Water Products – Applications for Forecasting for Hazardous Precipitation Events
Sheldon J. Kusselson (CIRA) shows us the Advected Layered Precipitable Water (ALPW) and Total Precipitable Water (TPW) products and how to apply them for forecasting hazardous events.
Water vapor availability is a key factor in forecasting heavy precipitation. Passive microwave instruments onboard several polar orbiting spacecraft measure emission from water vapor and provide a capability to sense layers of and total water vapor in the atmosphere. Via fusion of passive microwave retrievals from five or more polar orbiting spacecraft and model wind fields, the Advected Layered Precipitable Water (ALPW) and Total Precipitable Water (TPW) products are created hourly. The new ALPW product and upgraded Total Precipitable Water products, including a percent of normal TPW product, will become operational for forecasters in 2023. In the meantime, CIRA already produces the products hourly on the internet. During the past decade applications for the ALPW and TPW products have been developed for many different types of weather events, with a focus on heavy precipitation. This presentation will highlight applications for various weather hazards such as heavy rain causing flooding and heavy snow. Case studies using applications for the ALPW and TPW products in different parts of the world, including Europe, will be presented.