Meteorological Data Systems Instrument History, Techniques and Applications By: Daniel Ruth

Observing the Atmosphere Dates back to 1600’s Benjamin Franklin first to track a storms transient nature Other early observers included Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Louis and Clark

Observation Program 1870: President Grant authorizes creation of a national weather service Birth of aviation spurs rapid growth in weather observation 1920’s: Navy and Weather Bureau utilize aircraft for observing weather

Remote Sensing 1950’s: Remote sensing is created through the invention of RADAR and Satellite Technology was spawned from post war military technological developments Allow for observation of remote areas

Satellites Two types of satellite: Geostationary and Polar Orbiting Geostationary: Big picture, orbits at 22,000 miles in altitude Polar Orbiter: Detailed picture, orbits at 800 miles in altitude

Satellite Imagery Three main types of imagery Water vapor, Visible wavelength and Infrared Wavelength

RADAR RAdio Detection And Ranging Electromagnetic waves reflect off of atmospheric particles Doppler Radar used for determining movement of particles

Data Assimilation Data is gathered at the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Quality checked through statistical methods Used as initial conditions in numerical weather prediction models

Numerical Modeling Three primary models in the U.S. Global Forecast Simulation (GFS) North American Mesoscale model (NAM) Rapid Update Cycle model (RUC)

Predictability Current model skill is about 5-7 days Dr. Edward Lorenz discovers finite predictability and creates chaos theory Prediction accuracy hinges on accurate high resolution observation

Questions?