1. BFB
Thursdee, October 27th

2. Precipitation Type
Precipitation comes in all shapes and sizes and phases of state
Liquid
Rain
Solid
Snow
Sleet
Graupel
Mix
Freezing rain

3. Basics of Precip Type How cold will the surface be?
Temperatures at different levels
Surface to 850mb
How much precip?
Rain to snow equivalent
Lake-effect? Nor’Easter?
Critical thickness values

4. First Look at current obs Metars SPC Mesoanalysis Satellite and RADAR
RUC initial analysis

5. Critical Thickness
Thicknesses between layers correspond to temperature differences
Certain values represent the freezing level
mb critical value is 540dm
mb critical value is 284dm
If both agree, then good!
Use GARP model data for these

6. Other Temperature Factors
Look for inversions (BUFKIT)
Also check for different temperature layers
Warm air over shallow freezing layer could mean mixed precip or freezing rain
Evaporational cooling
Could lower freezing level
Wet bulb (BUFKIT)

7. Make a Precipitation Forecast
Will you actually have precip
If yes, where and when?
Look for precip makers
Lake-effect
Nor’easters

8. BUFKIT Temperature profiles Can indicate precip type on it’s own
Use the overview tab for precip type and amount