1. Identifying and Tracking Severe Weather Precursor Signatures from High-resolution Satellite Data in Real-Time FY 2008 Proposal to the NOAA HPCC Program Principal Investigator:Robert Rabin Collaborators: Valliappa Lakshmanan (CIMMS, University of Oklahoma)‏ Tom Whittaker (CIMSS, University of Wisconsin-Madison)‏‏ Arnie Gruber (NOAA/CREST, City College of New York)‏ Kurt Hondl (NOAA/NSSL)‏ Steven Weiss (NOAA/SPC)‏ John Moses (NASA/Goddard, Geenbelt MD)‏ Wayne Feltz (CIMSS, University of Wisconsin-Madison)‏ Proposal Theme: Technologies for Modeling, Analysis or Visualization Funding Summary: FY 2008 $ 37,000 (In-Kind $10,000)‏

2. Benefits Enable timely use of GOES high resolution imagery data for algorithm development identification and tracking rapidly changing storm top features keys on overshooting tops (intense updrafts) from hi-res visible imagery incorporates info from GOES multi-spectral data (leverage from NASA) links satellite and radar products for thunderstorm tracking Multi-Line-Office, Multi-University Proposal, Leverages tasks from existing NOAA, NASA projects Builds on previous HPCC projects Makes use of high bandwidth data transfer Cost Effective means to further develop tools for research and operations Transfer output to operational NOAA units (AWIPS, N-AWIPS)‏

3. Methodology Receive, fuse and remap visible 1km satellite data from both GOES satellites over the CONUS. Detect overshooting tops from the visible images. Track overshooting tops over time and attach radar and satellite based parameters with these overshooting tops so that forecasters can study the time evolution. Display algorithm output (real-time) in Java applet.

4. Deliverables Overshooting cloud top algorithm output for combined use with radar data. Viewable in: 1) a Java applet on the web, 2) AWIPS, and 3) N-AWIPS. Milestones Receive award notification (tentative) – 15 March 2008 Order and receive hardware – 15 April 2008 Have overshooting tops algorithm running in real-time – 15 May 2008

5. Real-time loops (WSR-88D, GOES): http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/~rabin/vis_1km

6. GOES 1km visible probability of “overshooting tops”: 11 June 08 2332 UTC

7. GOES Cloud top couplets: 11 June 08 2332 UTC

8. WSR-88D Composite reflectivity: 11 June 08 2328 UTC

9. GOES Cloud top temperature: 11 June 08 2332 UTC

15. ThunderTracker Version 3 Java server Updated for MySQL access Modified for CIRT requirements MySQL database for storm track info Larger image files – same format Flash client replaces Java applet More consistent layout No more memory issues – larger images, more tracks, etc. Better built-in charting capabilities

16. The components MySQL Database Track Values Flat-file Satellite & Radar Images ThunderServer3 Thunder Tracker Browser Client Browser Client LDM Data Source Encode Data Source

17. System for Storm Analysis Using Multiple Data Sets FY 2007 Proposal to the NOAA HPCC Program Principal Investigator:Robert M. Rabin Collaborators:  Valliappa Lakshmanan (CIMSS, University of Oklahoma)‏  Jaime Daniels (NOAA/NESDIS)‏  Arnie Gruber (NOAA/CREST, City College of New York)‏  Steven Weiss(NOAA/SPC)‏  Tom Whittaker (CIMSS, University of Wisconsin-Madison)‏ Proposal Theme:Technologies for Modeling, Analysis, or Visualization Funding Summary:FY 2007 $ 38,000 (in-kind matching: $15,000)

18. OBJECTIVES Extend the web-based "Tool for storm analysis using multiple data sets" to include additional observational data and to provide short-term forecasts of storm location and relevant atmospheric conditions. Additional data will include derived products from the national network of WSR-88D Doppler radars not routinely available elsewhere: storm relative inflow and low-level air convergence hail diagnosis and rotation tracks Tracking of satellite, radar reflectivity fields and estimated precipitation will be linked together utilizing an existing approach which accounts for: movement of multiple scales movement of cloud and radar reflectivity and 'forecast' positions 1-2 hours into the future (Lakshamanan,2003)‏ Provide output from this tool to operational units in NOAA. This includes testing at the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), transfer of imagery to AWIPS and N-AWIPS, and input to a nowcasting system for greater New York City (in collaboration with NOAA cooperative institute CREST).

19. Version 3 of ThunderTracker Version 1 was a simple display with animations and overlays Version 2 was a full-blown prototype that added many tracking features with some graph plotting Version 3 moves beyond those with  A new, extensible database  More complex graphing and overlays on client side  Perhaps using Flash instead of Java on client side?

20. A Web-based tool for monitoring MCS Storm Analysis Using Multiple Data Sets. Robert Rabin, Tom Whittaker 2004 Advances in Visual Computing, G. Bebis, R. Boyle, D. Koracin, B. Parvin, Ed(s)., Springer, 571-578.

21. New Server-side Database MySQL based instead of previous “flat text file” Needed more flexibility to handle additional parameters and image types Tables fed from different sources but accessed through Java server-side technology

22. Database Structure Two tables:  Storm-connected data Each tracked storm has many items (columns)‏ Indexed by time; sorted on retrieval by storm-key number  Images Table stores references to the image files, not the images Types: Satellite (visible, IR), Radar, Lightning Indexed by time MySQL chosen  Easy, simple needs with no critical storage or retrieval considerations

23. Use Flash instead of Java on Client Problems with Java (client) plug-in:  Installation requires “admin privileges”  Plug-in memory limit is only 64MB by default Hard to change default – different on each platform  Incompatibilities with older Java versions If we move to Java 1.5 and Swing components, then old users of IE running Microsoft's Java will not work Flash advantages:  No memory limit, easy install, alread on more than 95% of computers world-wide, easy and clean updates, excellent image and graphing libraries  Use ActionScript for a “single-frame Flash movie” allows for animations, overlays, etc

24. ThunderTracker Database Table - Images Table Storm-Tracked Parameters * GOES – visible * GOES – IR * Radar – VIP levels * Lightning – counts * Date-time information * Storm ID, Location, Date-time * CAPE * Bunkers Storm motion * Observed Storm motion * Convective Inhibition * LCL Height * Shear * Helicity * Min IR temperature and couplets * Size & Orientation * Radar reflectivity and VIL * Rotation (Doppler azimuthal shear)‏ * Hail probability, expected size * Echo Top height * Upper-level divergence

25. "K-means" technique for tracking satellite cloud top and radar reflectivity features.

26. Real-time loops (WSR-88D and GOES): http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/~rabin/tracks

27. Example of GOES IR Cloud tops, observed 1045 UTC

28. Example of GOES IR Cloud tops, observed 1132 UTC

29. Example of GOES IR Cloud tops, projected 1-hr, 1245 UTC

30. Example of GOES IR Cloud tops, projected 2-hr, 1345 UTC

31. Wind vectors and horizontal divergence at 300 mb (green contours) from GOES water vapor imagery.

32. Sample Client Session: Storm Overview

33. Radar mid-level rotation (gold) vs. Enviromental deep layer vertical shear (green)

34. Environmental CAPE (gold) vs. Deep vertical shear (green)

35. WSR-88D “VIL” (gold) vs. GOES Cloud top temperature (green)

36. Radar mid-level rotation (green) vs. Environmental Helicity (gold)

37. Radar “VIL” (green) vs. Enviromental CAPE (gold)

38. Radar “VIL” (green) vs. environmenal Deep Layer Shear (gold)

39. GOES Cloud top temperature (green) vs. Environmental Deep layer shear (gold)

40. Radar low-level rotation (green) vs. Enviromental Helicity (gold)

41. Problem Areas: Time spent of CERT certification. Availability of website to outside world. Additional work needed: Include Choice of Storm “Scales” in database for use by clients. Include time trends of additional storm top features. Include “forecast” imagery: link to new HPCC project on forecast visible imagery and other modeling efforts. Possible Reanalysis: link to Travis Smith proposed comprehensive radar, satellite algorithm reanalysis. Inclusion into AWIPS-2 for future NWS utilization.