Weather Part III – Analyses and Modelling Now that you can get an idea of what’s happening in the atmosphere by reading the clouds, we’ll take a look at some of the more advanced analyses and modelling products that are put out. Again, we’ll focus on the Environment Canada products here, as they produce a good variety of information, and the lessons carry over to most other types of charts. Part way down the Analyses and Modelling page, you’ll see a section labelled “Astronomy”, where you’ll find atmospheric models for Cloud, Seeing, Transparency, and Near Ground Forecasts. The Cloud Forecast page brings up a table with four regions; East and West Canada, and East and West USA. Each region has two start times; 00 UTC and 12 UTC. The T+03 etc numbers beneath are the hourly forecasts for the next few dozen hours. At the bottom of the list of images, you’ll find an animation button that will give you a clear idea of what weather systems are in play, as well as how and why the cloud is or isn’t forecast. The Seeing Forecast page offers an estimate of the overall quality of seeing conditions, as well as an excellent description of what “seeing” means. The scale on this chart ranges from white = cloud to dark blue = excellent seeing. The Sky Transparency Forecast would more accurately be called a “Water Vapour Forecast”, as that’s the only element of sky transparency that can be forecast on the scale of these images. Luckily, water vapour is one of the major contributing factors to a lack of sky transparency, although local phenomena can reduce transparency as well. The final forecast is not directly related to observing, but toward our personal comfort. It provides forecasts for surface wind, temperature, and humidity. This could be the difference between being comfortably dressed or not. Env. Canada Analyses and Modelling - weather.gc.ca/mainmenu/modelling_menu_e.html
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 18:15:39 +0000
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