Identify cloud types and their characteristics
Eunha Sohn gives a presentation on NWC-SAF products adapted to the Korean COMS satellite.
Length: 30 min
Author: Eunha Son (KMA)
Firstly, the characteristics of synoptic weather which convective cloud occurs over eastern Asian region will be mentioned and the thunderstorm monitoring system with radar data which KMA forecasters use will be also introduced. And then I will present our convective cases and explain them with satellite, radar and other NWP data.
Ralph Petersen discusses a new forecast tool.
Length: 30 min
Author: Ralph Petersen (University of Wisconsin)
Delineating areas where convection is most/least likely to develop can be difficult, especially in the next 3-9 hours. Knowing how forecasts can extend the usefulness of SEVIRI products from observations to forecasts can be equally challenging. This talk discusses a new forecast tool that addresses a number of questions: How can SEVIRI products be used to monitor and predict areas that are becoming more/less supportive for development of convection? Will the details in the SEVIRI observations be retained by short-range forecast tool? How do the derived SEVIRI forecast products relate to standard satellite forecasting conventions? Can IR satellite observations still be useful after convection has begun and clouds have formed? Are the SEVIRI projections useful for monitoring NWP performance?
Jan Fokke Meirink speaks about the algorithms developed for the retrieval of daytime cloud physical properties from MSG-SEVIRI.
Length:
Author: Jan Fokke Meirink (KNMI)
Within the CM SAF we have developed an algorithm for the retrieval of daytime cloud physical properties from MSG-SEVIRI. This algorithm and the retrieval products will be described. Furthermore applications will be discussed with a focus on convection.
Liliane Hofer presents alpine pumping as a major mechanism for convection related to orography.
Length: 30 min
Author: Liliane Hofer (ZAMG)
Mountainous regions tend to be the starting point for convective developments due to their elevated heat sources, the topographic amplifying factor or their role as a flow obstacle. In this presentation different synoptic situations and the consequent convection will be analyzed in the Alpine region on the hand of case studies.
Georg Pistotnik talks about the role of vertical wind shear in storm organization.
Length: 30 min
Author: Georg Pistotnik (ZAMG)
Next to sufficient instability, strong vertical wind shear is the main driver that promotes thunderstorms to organize into multicells, supercells or lines, which are more probable to attain a longer lifetime and to produce severe weather phenomena like hail or wind gusts. The role of vertical wind shear in storm organization is explained in this presentation, and selected case studies illustrate how favorable conditions for severe storms can evolve either by large-scale processes or, more challenging for forecasters, by local modifications of the wind systems and associated temperature and humidity changes.
An intensive training module on the operational use of RGBs in the forecasting room.
Technological advances and the increasing sophistication of weather forecasting have created a demand for more frequent and more accurate and higher resolution observations from space. To meet this demand on 28th August 2002 the first of four satellites known as Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) was launched.
MSG transmits more than 20 times the information of its predecessor. The improved resolution of frequency of data significantly contributes to the accuracy of both short-term and medium range weather forecasts. Since 2004, the MSG satellites have been providing full Earth disc images every 15 minutes, in 12 spectral bands.
Twenty times more information is also a challenge for the user to cope with. To present all of this extra data in a understandable way to the user, so-called RGB (red, green and blue) images were developed that allow you to easily make a qualitative analysis. In RGB images the different properties of the twelve spectral bands of MSG are combined in one powerful coloured image.
Fog, snow, atmospheric dust, SO2 clouds from erupting volcanoes, severe updrafts in convective systems, Potential Vorticity (PV) anomalies are just a few keywords and applications that we will teach you to recognise in satellite imagery. On several occasions questions and exercises will help you to test your gained knowledge.
Icing still represents a major threat to aviation. This CAL module focuses on the occurrence of icing in stratiform clouds. A method to detect icing probability from satellite images in combination with radar and radiosonde data is presented.
Ice formation on wings and inside of the jet engine of planes causes around 15% of weather related aircraft accidents. Most icing occurs inside cumulonimbus clouds when supercooled droplets freeze with contact of the aircraft body. But also in stratiform clouds icing represents a major threat to aircrafts during landing and take-off phase. In this CAL module, icing hazards related to stratiform clouds are examined. The introductory chapter focuses on the different types of icing and the physical principles leading to ice formation on aircrafts. Satellite products from geostationary and polar orbiting satellites help differentiating between ice and water clouds. A sample of satellite images and products illustrate this capability. Additional data sources like radiosoundings and radar imagery are useful completions to the satellite data. Interpretation of radiosoundings in view of icing occurrence is the main topic of chapter 4. The usefulness of radar data for detecting ice clouds is demonstrated. Three case studies complement the theoretical part of the training module, showing typical weather situations where severe icing represented a serious threat to aircrafts in the past. These case studies combine the above mentioned data sources in the frame of a practical situation. The CAL module finishes on a suggested procedure for nowcasting icing from stratiform clouds. Exercises offering the possibility to test the acquired knowledge form the end of this module.
In this CAL module you will learn to detect areas with the risk for Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). This will be done with the help of satellite images, soundings, flight reports and analyses of the airflow.
Clear Air Turbulence is one of the most frequent hazards for civil aviation. It is also one of the biggest challenges for forecasters to detect and warn for possible Clear Air Turbulence occurrence.
In this CAL module you will learn to detect areas with a high risk for Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). This will be done with the help of satellite images, soundings, flight reports and analyses of the airflow. Practical examples will show you how to apply your knowledge.
This CAL module deals with applications of MSG water vapour images in operational forecast departments. It focusses on the analysis of WV imagery in view of turbulence, cyclogenesis, convection and deformation zones.
This training module gives an overview on applications of MSG water vapour channels for operational weather forecasting. It handles the concept of potential vorticity which is a key feature to understand the dynamic processes in the higher Troposphere such as cyclogenesis. The CAL module also shows practical applications of the WV images from the geostationary satellites for locating tropopause foldings, clear air turbulence and deformation zones. It handles the effects of WV boundaries on the initiation of convective processes and finally presents some meteorological products heavily based on WV imagery.
An intensive training module on the operational use of RGBs in the forecasting room.
The new generation satellite data contains more and more information offering increased insight into cloud and air mass characteristics. This poses a challenge: figuring out how to extract, distill and package the data into products that are easy for forecasters to interpret and use.
One might create numerous different kinds of RGB images. Satellite experts developed some optimally tuned RGB types for highlighting specific features. These are the so called standard RGBs recommended by EUMETSAT. The advantage of using standard RGBs is their easy comparability.
The aim of creating RGBs is to provide fast, easily understandable VISUAL information. A 'good' RGB should convey information that would be difficult or time consuming to assess visually from one or more individual single channel images. RGB image should be unambiguous and use intuitive colours to help highlighting important meteorological and surface features. RGBs provide useful information to forecasters, in particular when looking at animated image sequences. They preserve the "natural" look-and-feel of "traditional" satellite images, e.g. they preserve texture, and the patterns are continuous in time.
In this module you will learn more about the EUMETSAT standard RGBs: HRV Fog RGB, Snow RGB, Night Microphysics RGB and the Ash RGB.
This module treats all kinds of atmospheric gravity waves over land and over the oceans.
This module treats all kinds of atmospheric wave phenomena, starting with Lee Waves and ending with Vortex Streets. The physical background of Gravity Waves in general and Lee Waves in special will be highlighted and special cases, such as Foehn clouds, treated in more details. Gravity waves over the oceans build another focal point of this module. At the end of each chapter, exercises will help you to check the acquired knowledge.
The purpose of this training module is to give an overview on the different RGB types created from the AVHRR instrument.
This training module describes MetOp AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) RGB schemes that are based on EUMETSAT recommendations. The 'recipes' were tuned to create high quality MetOp/AVHRR RGB images as similar as possible to the SEVIRI RGB schemes recommended by EUMETSAT.
The main aim of the training module is to help the users (weather forecasters and/or other experts) understand and use these RGB types by giving them background information, examples and exercises.
The module takes the following structure:
- The aim of the RGB type
- Physical background
- How to create the given RGB type
- Typical colors
- Examples of interpretation
- Benefits and limitations
- Comparisons with other RGB types and/or single channel images
- Exercise