NOAA, California partner to improve forecasts...
Posted by hanna on 12/11/2012, 10:20 am
| of powerful 'atmospheric river' winter storms. No mention about giving them names. December 3, 2012 NOAA scientists and colleagues are installing the first of four long-term "atmospheric river observatories" in coastal California this month to better monitor and predict the impacts of land falling atmospheric rivers. These powerful winter systems, sometimes called "pineapple express" storms, can be beneficial, in that they help to fill the state's reservoirs, but they can also cause destructive floods and debris flows. The coastal observatories, which are arrays of custom instruments, are being installed in collaboration with the California Department of Water Resources and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. The observatories will give weather forecasters, emergency managers and water resource experts detailed information about incoming storms such as winds and water content.  "California needs to know how and where it might rain or snow, when and where to expect flooding," said Michael Anderson, Ph.D., state climatologist with the California Department of Water Resources. "The observatories will also help state officials and scientists monitor changes in atmospheric rivers associated with climate change."  The four coastal observatories will include: A Doppler wind profiling radar, which reveals the speed and direction of winds at several altitudes aloft; A technique for extracting critical information from wind profiler data - the level in the atmosphere where falling snow turns to rain; Global positioning system (GPS) water vapor instruments, which measure the total amount of water vapor above the site; and Standard meteorological instruments (relative humidity, temperature, pressure, rain gauge). The rest of the story is on the link below. http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/20121203_atmosphericrivers.html |
140
In this thread:
Post A Reply
This thread has been archived and can no longer receive replies.