Observations

ENVI 1400 : Lecture 10

ENVI 1400 : Meteorology and Forecasting

Synoptic Observations
Observations synchronised worldwide at: 0000, 0600, 1200, 1800 UTC.
Some stations report more frequently: every 3 hours or hourly, some at only some of the above times.

Two main sets of measurements:

Surface Observations Upper air observations (radiosondes)

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Surface Observations
Basic measurements: Temperature, dew-point temperature, pressure, rainfall, wind speed & direction. Manual observations of cloud cover & current weather: precipitation type, visibility,
Also: Automated measurements of solar & IR radiation, visibility
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ENVI 1400 : Meteorology and Forecasting

Sources of Data
Surface-based measurements
Surface observations Radiosondes

Remote Sensing
Satellites Radar profilers, lidar, sodar

Numerical Model Analyses

Closely linked with forecasts
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Pyranometer solar radiation

Pyrgeometer infra red radiation

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Beaufort Scale
Beaufort Force Wind Speed (kts) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 13 46 7 10 11 16 17 21 22 27 28 33 34 40 41 47 48 55 56 63 Description Calm Light air Light breeze Gentle breeze Moderate breeze Fresh breeze Strong breeze Near gale Gale Strong gale Storm Sea Condition Sea is like a mirror Ripples but without foam crests Small wavelets. Crests do not break Large wavelets, perhaps scattered white-caps Small waves. Frequent white-caps Moderate waves. Many white-caps Large waves begin to form. White foam crests, perhaps some spray Sea heaps up. White foams blown in streaks along wind Moderately high waves. Crests begin to break into spindrift High waves. Dense foam along the direction of the wind. Crests of waves begin to roll over. Spray may affect visibility Very high waves with long overhanging crests. The surface of the sea takes a white appearance. The tumbling of the sea becomes heavy and shock like. Visibility affected Exceptionally high waves. The sea is completely covered with long white patches of foam lying in the direction of the wind. Visibility affected The air is filled with foam and spray. Sea completely white with driving spray. Visibility very seriously affected.

11

Violent storm

12

64+

Hurricane

Defined by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857)

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Beaufort Force Wind Speed (kts) 0 1 0 13

Description Calm Light air

Conditions on Land Calm; smoke rises vertically Direction of wind shown by smoke drift, but not by wind vanes. Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; ordinary wind vanes moved by wind. Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flags. Raises dust and loose paper; small branches are moved. Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters. Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telegraph wires; umbrellas used with difficulty. Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt when walking against the wind. Breaks twigs off trees; generally impedes progress. Slight structural damage occurs (chimney-pots and slates removed). Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage occurs. Very rarely experienced; accompanied by wide-spread damage. -

2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

46
7 10 11 16 17 21 22 27 28 33 34 40 41 47 48 55 56 63 64+

Light breeze
Gentle breeze Moderate breeze Fresh breeze Strong breeze Near gale Gale Strong gale Storm Violent storm Hurricane

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Surface observations

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Surface Observation Charts

Charts of surface observations use a set of standard symbols to represent the meteorological conditions:
Wind speed and direction Temperature Humidity (dew point) Cloud cover Precipitation type & (approximate) amount Pressure

Symbols are defined by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), but feature some national additions or modifications.
For UK surface maps see:
www.medvale.demon.co.uk/weather/charts.htm http://meteocentre.com/analyse/map.php?hour= 0&lang=en&map=UK

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http://meteocentre.com/analyse/map.php?hour=0&lang=en&map=UK

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http://www.medvale.demon.co.uk/weather/charts.htm

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http://www.meteo.uni-koeln.de/meteo.php?show=En_We_Wk

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Temperature Visibility 20 = 2000m

Pressure

19 14
Wind barb

013
Cloud cover

20
Current Weather conditions
Dew point

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Clear skies

4/8 (50%) cloud cover

1/8 or less

6/8 (75%) cloud cover

2/8 (25%) cloud cover

7/8 or more cloud cover

3/8 cloud cover

100% cloud cover

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Visibility obscured

Missing data

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Long bar = 10

5 kts

Short bar = 5

15 kts

25 kts

Flag = 50
60 kts Units are KNOTS or m s-1 (usually knots)
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N
Wind Wind direction

N.B. Wind barb points in the direction the wind is blowing, but direction is quoted as angle wind is coming from (eg 135, or southeasterly).
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Interpreting Pressure Reports

If reported value > 500:

013

Initial 9 is missing. Place it on left and divide by 10. e.g. 827 becomes 982.7 mb

If reported value < 500 Initial 10 is missing. Place it on left and divide by 10. e.g. 027 becomes 1002.7 mb

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RAIN
light

DRIZZLE
light

SNOW
light

moderate

moderate

moderate

heavy

heavy

heavy

FREEZING RAIN
light rain shower light light snow shower

moderate rain shower

moderate
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moderate snow shower

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thunderstorm

Haze Tropical Storm

Heavy thunderstorm

Fog Hurricane

Ice crystals

Hail

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Radiosondes
Balloon-borne, ascent from surface to ~25km Measure Temperature, humidity, pressure Windspeed & direction are derived from change in GPS measured position In past, position determined from radar reflection, or manual tracking with theodolite

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Upper air observations

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Other Measurements
An increasing variety of automated measurements are available:
Instruments fitted to commercial airliners Weather radar Radar wind profilers Sodar wind profilers RASS temperature profilers

Satellite remote sensing:

Surface temperatures Cloud height Water vapour concentration Aerosol loading Temperature profiles Chemical concentrations (ozone, CO,) Surface winds over oceans

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Radar wind profiler:

Obtains wind profiles from doppler shift of radar signal from array of antenna. Beam steered by phasing transmission.

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Wind profiler time-series

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