Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch

Development of automated objective eye-detection algorithm:  As part of the JPSS-PGRR-TC project, the automated eye detection algorithm was developed in the fall of 2014. Last quarter, it was found that in many cases where a tropical cyclone eye is small, the eye detection algorithm will incorrectly determine that the image does not contain an eye.  At that time, the algorithm could only perform classification on low resolution GOES-IR images. Work has been performed to tune the algorithm by allowing high resolution VIIRS IR imagery to be used as input with the goal of reducing the number of incorrect classifications in cases with small eyes.  Figure 1 shows an example of raw unprojected VIIRS I5 IR image that was used for testing. In order for a VIIRS image to be compatible with the algorithm’s previous training, the data must be regridded to the GOES IR image grid. Work has been completed to perform this transformation using interpolation as well as verification that this data can be used with the previously implemented eye-detection algorithm. (R. DeMaria)

Figure 1. Unprojected raw VIIRS IR I5-band image (375 m resolution) of hurricane Edouard, al062014. This image is a typical example of the image with the small eye, which is incorrectly classified by the current automated eye-detection algorithm.   Bias-correction was developed for ATMS-MIRS soundings based on the comparison with Atlantic dropsondes: As part of the JPSS-PGRR-TC project, the ATMS soundings were adjusted based on the comparison with dropsonde soundings.  Figure 1 shows an example of how the warm core sounding changes as result of applying bias-correction to the ATMS-MIRS data for the Atlantic basin. Figure 1 (Left) is produced from the original ATMS data, and Figure 1 (Right) is produced from bias-corrected ATMS data. The warm core signal becomes stronger at the upper levels in the bias-corrected version, which is more consistent with the warm core structure described in the literature (e.g. Hawkins and Rubsam 1968). In addition, the air temperature at the lower levels looks more realistic in the bias-corrected plot at a distance of 200-300 km from the storm center. Also, the cold anomaly in the center of the storm at the lower levels, when present, is removed by the bias corrections. (G. Chirokova)

Figure 1. Warm core structure as depicted by ATMS-MIRS temperature retrievals. The left panel shows uncorrected plot. The right panel shows ATMS-MIRS temperature profile corrected by the bias relative to dropsondes. The corrected version provides more pronounced (larger amplitude) warm core at the upper levels, and removes some cool anomalies at the lower levels.  The image is shown for the Hurricane Edouard, al062014.

Testing of MPI and RII algorithms using preliminary pre-operation 2012-2013 dataset and 2014 season AL data: As part of the JPSS-PGRR-TC project, the SHIPS, LGEM and RII were tested using corrected ATMS soundings. The 2014 version of the SHIPS/LGEM model was used for testing. The SHIPS/LGEM model was run with the operational settings, where MPI is calculated from empirical formula (runs LG61 and DS61); with GFS MPI (runs LG62 and DS62); and with ATMS MPI (bias-corrected run LG63 and DS63, and without bias correction LG65 and DS65).  The best results were obtained by using bias corrected ATMS data for the AL (Atlantic), and ATMS data without bias correction for EP (E. Pacific) and (W. Pacific). Table 1 summarizes setting used for different runs.  (G. Chirokova, R. DeMaria)

Table 1. Settings for different SHIPS and LGEM runs.

Figure 1 shows forecast intensity errors for the test runs. For the Atlantic basin the best results were obtained with LGEM. LG62 and LG63 produce very similar results, and in some cases (e.g. 12 h forecast) the ATMS run LG63 shows smaller errors compared to LG62, as could be seen on Figure 2, upper left. In addition, at 96 hours forecast time all 3 runs show the same error. These results are a considerable improvement from last year’s preliminary testing where the ATMS based forecast for Atlantic basin was noticeably worse than the operational version. The SHIPS forecast with ATMS input is also improved; however, most of the time, the operational and GFS versions of SHIPS produce smaller errors. The obtained results confirm that correcting ATMS based on comparisons with dropsondes improves SHIPS and LGEM forecasts.  (G. Chirokova, R. DeMaria)

Figure 1. Forecast intensity errors for SHIPS/LGEM with ATMS input. Upper right: LGEM for AL (Atlantic), upper left: SHIPS for AL, lower right SHIPS for EP (E. Pacific), lower left SHIPS for WP (W. Pacific). On all plots red diamonds show runs with the same settings as used operationally, which is LG61 for LGEM and DS61 for SHIPS. Blue diamonds show runs LG62/DS62 which use the GFS MPI. Green diamonds show runs LG63/DS63/DS65 which use the ATMS MPI. Runs LG63 and DS63 for AL use bias-adjusted ATMS profiles averaged between 300 -600 km from the storm center, and run DS65 uses original ATMS profiles averaged in radii between 200-800 km from the storm center.

For the EP (E. Pacific)and WP (W. Pacific) basins the best results were obtained with the SHIPS model. For the EP basin, the ATMS run DS65 outperfoms both operational (DS61) and GFS (DS62) versions for most forecast times as can be seen on Figure 1, lower left. For the WP basin, DS65 has larger errors compared to the operational version; however, it outperforms GFS version (DS62) for all forecast times (Figure 1, lower right). Further forecast improvement could possibly be achived when more data become available.

The bias-corrected ATMS profiles were also used to rerun RII for the years 2012-2014 for the AL. Table 2 shows updated statistics for these runs, as well as the rerun for WP using original ATMS-based MPI estimate. As shown in Table 2, Brier Score (BS) in all cases is slightly smaller when using ATMS profiles to calculate MPI. This indicates a slight improvement.  The Brier Skill Score (BSS) and bias, however, show that GFS runs produce slightly better results for the AL basin. The Brier Score for both GFS and ATMS is significantly smaller compared to last year’s estimates. The GFS model was updated in 2014, therefore, even though the ATMS estimates are improved, the GFS estimates are improved as well, and, as result, GFS-based MPI produces slightly better estimates.  The bias of the RII estimate increased for both GFS and ATMS relative to last year’s estimates. That could be due to the increased sample size for the AL. The plots of the RII for individual storms (see Figure 2) show that GFS and ATMS-based RII estimates for the AL are very close to each other. The statistics are based on a very small number of RI cases and should be considered preliminary. (G. Chirokova, R. DeMaria)

Table 2. Statistics for RII. Table shows Brier Score (BS), Brier Skill Score (BSS), and Bias for predicted vs observed RI, as estimated by SHIPS model using MPI calculated using GFS (G) and ATMS (A) profiles.  A/G is ATMS relative to GFS; G/M is GFS relative to Mean, and  A/M is ATMS relative to Mean.

Figure 2. RII for 25 knots for Hurricane Edouard, AL06 2014. Green dots show observed RII index, which is 0 if no RI occurred, and 100% if RI occurred. Red line with stars shows RI forecast based on operational GFS model fields, and blue line with triangles shows RI forecast with MPI calculated from ATMS data.

Tropical Cyclone Algorithms Tuned to MIRS Retrievals:  As part of CIRA’s Cal/Val efforts, the tropical cyclone intensity and structure algorithm developed at CIRA was tuned to new satellite data sets.  The algorithm, which produces maximum wind speed, minimum central pressure, and the radii of the 34-, 50-, and 64-knot winds, was originally developed for temperature profiles retrieved from AMSU measurements using a statistical retrieval algorithm.  Recently, more advanced microwave retrieval schemes have been developed such as the MIRS (Microwave Integrated Retrieval System), NESDIS’ current operational microwave retrieval algorithm.  As the tropical cyclone intensity and structure algorithm was adapted to the new retrievals, it was necessary to recalculate the coefficients used in the calculation of the maximum wind speed, minimum pressure, and wind radii.  The new coefficients are now included in a version of the code which processes retrievals from the AMSU instrument aboard NOAA-18, NOAA-19, MetOp-A, and MetOp-B.  In addition, the MIRS algorithm is also used to generate retrievals from the ATMS instrument aboard the S-NPP satellite.  As this is a separate instrument, an additional set of coefficients valid for the ATMS/MIRS retrievals was also generated and incorporated into that version of the tropical cyclone intensity and structure code.  The following mean absolute error (MAE) statistics were presented at the SPSRB review for the transferal of these two versions of the tropical cyclone structure and intensity code to operations.  With the exception of R64 from the ATMS version, all fields met the MAE requirement. (J. Dostalek, G. Chirokova, A. Schumacher, J. Knaff, S. Longmore)

Dropsonde and MIRS Collocation Database:  A database of collocations between dropsondes and MIRS retrievals from both the AMSU (NOAA-18, NOAA-19, MetOp-A, and MetOp-B satellites) and ATMS (S-NPP satellite) was created for Atlantic tropical cyclones for the years 2012-2014.  These collocations are a valuable dataset in that the MIRS retrievals can be compared to the “ground truth” of the dropsondes.  This information will used in CIRA’s Cal/Val effort, which has a particular focus on the performance of microwave retrievals in the vicinity of tropical cyclones. (G. Chirokova, J. Dostalek)

AMSU Tropical Cyclone Wind Intensity Estimation Algorithm System: passed the NESDIS Operational Readiness Review and Satellite Product and Services Review Board on 30 March 2015. v1.2.2 and 1.2.3 software packages were tested and delivered to NESDIS/OSPO on 15 May 2015 and 19 May 2015. AMSU_TC v1.2.3 went operational 28 May 2015 at 15UTC. (S. Longmore)

NPP/ATMS Tropical Cyclone Wind Intensity Estimation Algorithm System: passed the NESDIS Operational Readiness Review and Satellite Product and Services Review Board on 30 March 2015. v1.5.3 and 1.5.4 software packages were tested and delivered to NESDIS/OSPO on 15 May 2015 and 19 May 2015. NPP_TC v1.5.4 is currently being transitioned to NDE operations. (S. Longmore)

Tropical Cyclone Model Diagnostics Released:  Version 3.0 of the code to calculate tropical cyclone (TC) large-scale model diagnostic files (based off the environmental diagnostics used in the statistical-dynamical TC intensity models SHIPS and LGEM) has been released to the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project (HFIP) community.  These diagnostics are used to evaluate model TC environments and generate statistical-dynamical TC intensity guidance.  (K. Musgrave)

Tropical Cyclone Model Diagnostics Shared with JMA:  K. Musgrave shared a global version of the code to calculate tropical cyclone (TC) large-scale model diagnostic files with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to run on their dynamical models.  These diagnostics are used to evaluate model TC environments and generate statistical-dynamical TC intensity guidance.  (J. Knaff, K. Musgrave)

CIRA’s tropical cyclone intensity and structure code: CIRA’s tropical cyclone intensity and structure code has been running operationally for over a decade at NCEP using statistically-based retrievals from the AMSU instrument.  The combination of using statistical retrievals and running on the NCEP supercomputer made this product difficult to maintain and update.  To hopefully alleviate those issues, this suite of programs was adapted for use with NESDIS’ current operational microwave retrieval algorithm, the Microwave Integrated Retrieval Scheme (MIRS).  Two products were created.  The first makes use of AMSU-based MIRS retrievals and runs in the Environmental Satellite Processing Center (ESPC) while the second makes use of ATMS-based MIRS retrievals and runs in the NPOESS Data Exploitation Environment (NDE).  Using MIRS retrievals, the code produces estimates of intensity (minimum SLP & maximum winds) and structure (in terms of 34-, 50-, and 64-knot wind radii) for tropical cyclones worldwide.  The AMSU//MIRS code is now running operationally at OSPO.  The ATMS version of the code is undergoing final setup and should be running operationally in NDE shortly.  The output of these programs is made available to tropical cyclone forecasters at NHC and JTWC and will be archived on the CLASS website.  (J. Dostalek)

Finalizing updates to the Monte Carlo (MC) wind speed probability model:  Several updates to the MC model, developed under Joint Hurricane Testbed support, are being tested in real-time during the 2015 Atlantic and N.E. Pacific hurricane seasons.   The updates include replacing the linear forecast interpolation scheme with a more precise spline fit scheme, applying a bias correction to the model track error statistics to provide consistency between NHC’s uncertainty products, and applying a bias correction to the radii-CLIPER used by the MC model to improve the accuracy of the wind speed probabilities for exceptionally small or large tropical cyclones.  After further testing in the last quarter, it has been shown that almost all of these updates improve Brier scores of the MC model over the last 3 years. A website for real-time display of these updates has been created on the RAMMB TC Real-time site at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/products/tc_realtime/  (A. Schumacher, K. Micke)

Experimental product providing guidance on tropical cyclone intensity model forecasts running in real-time at CIRA: Final updates have been made to the real-time Predicted Intensity Model Error (PRIME) algorithm.  The PRIME algorithm was developed by scientists at the University of Miami under Joint Hurricane Testbed support.  This algorithm was developed into a real-time product by scientists at CIRA and is, as of 1 June 2015, running experimentally at CIRA during the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.  A website for real-time display of PRIME has been created on the RAMMB TC Real-time site at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/products/tc_realtime/ (A. Schumacher, K. Micke)

Figure.  Bias-corrected consensus intensity forecast for Tropical Storm Ana calculated by PRIME, which will be demonstrated on the RAMMB TC Realtime website (http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/products/tc_realtime/) during the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.

Tropical Storm (TS) Ana Surface wind analyses:  The first automated surface wind analyses that combine the satellite-only multi-satellite platform tropical cyclone wind analyses with information received from reconnaissance aircraft (flight-level winds, SFMR surface wind speeds) were created for Tropical Storm Ana.  There have been several improvements from the algorithm run in 2014.  It is hoped that after the 2015 season, this JHT project will be recommended for operational transition (it is currently in a deferred decision state).  The figure below shows the wind analyses as TC Ana approaches the coast of North Carolina.  (J. Knaff)

Figure 1:  An automated tropical cyclone surface wind analysis that combines the MTCSWA with real-time information from reconnaissance aircraft.  At this time the NHC was estimating Tropical Storm Ana’s intensity as 40 knots with 34-knot wind radii of 70, 110, 60, and 40 in the NE, SE, SW, and NW quadrants.  Maximum flight-level winds were 33 m/s at 843 hPa.

More progress on TC structure estimation:  More progress has been made towards the goal of developing a method that could provide quality TC wind radii from routinely available information (storm location, storm motion, storm intensity, and patterns in IR imagery).   Table 1 shows the statistics associated with these wind radii estimates and Figure 2 show how these errors behave when they are stratified by location, intensity, size and motion information.  A manuscript describing this methodology which is based on a combination of IR size estimates (Knaff et al. 2014), the wind radii cliper wind asymmetries (Knaff et al. 2007), and climatological radius of maximum winds (Knaff et al. 2015) is being prepared for submission in the next quarter.  (J. Knaff)

Table 1.  Gross statistics of an IR-based method to provide tropical cyclone wind radii provided storm location, motion, and intensity and one IR image.   These compare well with other objective methods available to forecasters.

Figure 2. Conditional biases (left) and mean absolute errors (MAE, right) associated with a method to provide tropical cyclone wind radii via routinely available information.  Note that errors generally increase with conditions that promote greater asymmetries, but that for all cases errors are lowest for major hurricanes (MH).  Performance is reasonable for non-major hurricanes (NMH) and tropical storms (TSs) in most situations.

Presentation at FY16 Annual Review for Satellite Product Development:  J. Knaff made a presentation entitled “Upgrade to the multi-platform satellite tropical cyclone surface wind analysis product” that seeks funding (~$187K) to upgrade the MTCSWA product.  An example of how the upgrade with affect the product is shown below for Hurricane Blanca. (J. Knaff)

Caption:  The panels compare the output from the MTCSWA v2.0 (left) and the operational version of MTCSWA (right) for Hurricane Blanca on 6 June 2015 12 UTC, when the current intensity was estimated at 115 kt.

Near real-time demonstrations begin for two new tropical cyclone (TC) products:  Two new TC products, developed with support from the Joint Hurricane Testbed, have been added to the CIRA/RAMMB TC Realtime webpage (http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/products/tc_realtime/).  The first new product is the Predicted Intensity Model Error (PRIME), which estimates bias and mean absolute error for four operational TC intensity models (DSHP, LGEM, HWFI, and GHMI) using storm-based and environmental predictors.  The PRIME algorithm was developed by scientists at the University of Miami and the product was developed at CIRA/RAMMB.  The second new product is an experimental version of the Monte Carlo wind speed probability algorithm that incorporates several updates and improvements.  Both products will be evaluated during the 2015 Atlantic and N. E. Pacific hurricane seasons. (A. Schumacher, K. Micke, J. Knaff)

Lightning in Hurricanes: A detailed case study of Hurricane Issac (2012) is being undertaken by visiting Hollings Scholar (Ben Trabing) from the University of Oklahoma. The study is making use of two long range lightning data sets, Earth Networks and the World-Wide Lightning Location Network, in a region where both have comparable detection rates. Isaac makes an ideal case to study as its lightning activity has been recently modeled and there is continued controversy surrounding how lightning activity may be interpreted for forecasting hurricanes. (J. Knaff, A. Schumacher, K. Musgrave)

NOAA Unique CrIS/ATMS Processing System, or NUCAPS algorithm: With the launch of the Suomi-NPP satellite in late 2011, new capabilities became available with the Cross-Track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS). An algorithm known as the NOAA Unique CrIS/ATMS Processing System, or NUCAPS, has been developed to retrieve global temperature and moisture profiles. These profiles have much higher horizontal resolution than the radiosonde network, and although smoother in the vertical than a radiosonde profile, they do provide information on the vertical distribution of temperature and moisture. Given the early afternoon pass of NPP, the ability of NUCAPS soundings to monitor the pre-convective environment over the U.S. will be investigated. Satellite retrievals tend to be less accurate near the surface, however, so the retrievals will be blended with surface observations and/or model fields to produce an analysis of the 3-D atmosphere before convective initiation, complementing the 1200 UTC and 0000 UTC balloon launches. A JPSS Proving Ground and Risk Reduction Program proposal for this data fusion work was accepted for funding. (J. Dostalek)

Joint proposal submitted to the JPSS Proving Ground and Risk Reduction Program: At high latitudes in the winter, air along commercial jet air routes can get so cold (-65°C) that there is a risk of the freezing of the jet fuel. For about 6 months, CIRA has been working with employees of NESDIS, NWS, CIMSS, SPoRT, and GINA (Geographic Information Network of Alaska) to investigate whether temperature retrievals from polar-orbiting satellites may be of assistance in locating these cold areas. The combined hyperspectral infrared/microwave soundings produced by the NUCAPS (NOAA Unique CrIS/ATMS Processing System) algorithm are of particular interest, although the utility of MIRS retrievals and retrievals from the CrIS instrument are also being investigated. A joint proposal submitted to the JPSS Proving Ground and Risk Reduction Program to continue this work was accepted for funding. (J. Dostalek)

Meeting with Open World Program delegates from Kyrgyzstan: As part of the Open Worlds program, hosted locally by WorldDenver, representatives from CIRA, the CSU Department of Atmospheric Science, and the Colorado Climate center met on 8 June 2015 with a delegation of atmospheric and energy scientists from the Kyrgyz Republic, discussing topics related to weather forecasting and flooding. (A. Schumacher)

Wind speed probability data provided for storm surge research: Wind speed probability realization (mcrall) files for Hurricanes Earl (2010) and Irene (2011) were generated using an experimental version of the Monte Carlo wind speed probability model developed under JHT support were provided to Brian Blanton of UNC-Chapel Hill for storm surge research. (A. Schumacher)

Meeting with Colorado State University Lightning Research Group Regarding Potential Tropical Cyclone Collaborations: Members of the RAMMB/CIRA Tropical Cyclone Research Group were invited to meet with Dr. Steve Rutledge and his group at CSU’s Dept. of Atmospheric Science to give a presentation on current research projects related to lightning and tropical cyclones. During this meeting, several areas of potential collaboration were identified. (J. Knaff, A. Schumacher, K. Musgrave)

Experimental MTCSWA data shared: An experimental version of the multi-platform tropical cyclone surface wind analysis (MTCSWA) data set was shared with H. Winterbottom (ESRL) for use in data assimilation studies of Hurricane Edouard (2014). These experimental versions include an updated version of the IR flight-level winds (Knaff et al. 2015, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology), the flight-level-to-surface wind reductions developed for the JHT, and improved inflow angle parameterizations based on research conducted at AOML. (J. Knaff)

IR-based tropical cyclone size data set shared: An objectively-derived TC size data set was provided to D. Chavas (SUNY, Albany) for comparison to a QuikSCAT-based TC size metric. This data set was described in Knaff et al. (2014, Journal of Climate). (J. Knaff)

Large dataset of Hurricane Elida (2008) prepared and provided: Three-hourly GOES-8 images for the times preceding and following the development of Hurricane Elida (2008) were provided to A. Rydbeck (CSU) for his research of the formation of easterly waves in the eastern North Pacific, rather than the Sahel of Africa. It appears Elida developed in association to a non-African easterly wave. (J. Knaff)

Telecom with JMA and MRI Tropical Cyclone Visitors: J. Knaff, K. Musgrave, M. DeMaria (NHC), and M. Brennan (NHC) participated in a telecom with JMA and MRI forecasters and researcher who were visiting NRL Monterey. The focus of the meeting was discussing: 1) sharing SHIPS and LGEM forecasts, and software sharing, 2) microwave-based intensity and structure estimates, and 3) our and NRLMRY’s plans for Himawari-8. JMA wants to eventually develop in-house statistical-dynamical intensity models for operational use, and ATMS and MetOp-B intensity estimates. (J. Knaff, K. Musgrave)

Meeting: J. Knaff and A. Schumacher met with Prof. B. Andersen (CSU), who is a faculty member in the Epidemiology section of the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences. Her research investigates how ambient environmental exposures, including heat waves, hurricanes, power outages, and air pollution, affect human health. The purpose of the meeting was simply to investigate how our groups could work together in the future. We have identified some common interests and plan to meet again soon. (J. Knaff, A. Schumacher)

Class Lecture: J. Knaff presented a lecture, Uses of Satellite Data for Tropical Cyclone Analysis and Forecasting, in T. Vonder Haar’s AT737 class entitled “Satellite Observations of the Atmosphere and Earth.” (J. Knaff)

Tropical Cyclone Model Diagnostics Shared with JMA: The week of 18 June 2015, K. Musgrave shared the global version of the code to calculate tropical cyclone (TC) large-scale model diagnostic files (based off the environmental diagnostics used in the statistical-dynamical TC intensity models SHIPS and LGEM) with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to run on their dynamical models. These diagnostics are used to evaluate model TC environments and generate statistical-dynamical TC intensity guidance. (J. Knaff, K. Musgrave)

New Alaska-centered VIIRS Imagery Product on RAMSDIS Online: The CIRA “Fire Temperature RGB” composite is now produced in near-real time and available on RAMSDIS Online for the Alaska region. This RGB composite is useful for detecting hot spots due to fires, along with highlighting where fires are most active, as the color of the hot spot is related to the radiative intensity of the fire. This product is now available online in preparation for the upcoming fire season in Alaska, which typically occurs during the spring months (late April to early June). Examples and discussion of the VIIRS Fire Temperature RGB composite are available on both the VIIRS Imagery Team Blog and the Seeing the Light: VIIRS in the Arctic Blog at the links provided below. (C. Seaman, K. Micke)

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/npp/blog/index.php/uncategorized/wild-week-of-wildfires-part-iii/ http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/npp/blog/index.php/uncategorized/the-outback-on-fire/ http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/npp/blog/index.php/uncategorized/when-canada-looks-like-china/ http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/alaska/blog/index.php/uncategorized/funny-river-isnt-laughing/

VIIRS Captures “Germany’s Magic Sparkle”: On 9 March 2015, VIIRS captured solar reflection off of numerous solar electricity farms in the state of Bavaria, which is one of the world’s leading areas for solar electricity production. This “solar panel glint” is responsible for the many bright spots seen in VIIRS solar reflective bands and may lead to false alarms when examining shortwave IR imagery for hot spots caused by fires. These bright spots may be seen in the CIRA “Fire Temperature RGB” (R/G/B 3.7/2.25/1.61 µm) image below. Additional images and discussion may be found on the VIIRS Imagery Team Blog at: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/npp/blog/index.php/uncategorized/germanys-magic-sparkle/ (C. Seaman)

Figure: VIIRS “Fire Temperature RGB” composite showing pastel-colored pixels due to reflection off of solar panels in Bavaria, Germany (11:54 UTC 9 March 2015)

VIIRS Imagery Blog Posts: The VIIRS Imagery and Visualization Team Blog has been updated with two new posts. One, titled “Germany’s Magic Sparkle,” was referenced above. The second one was titled, “The Aurora Seen Around The World”. This post discusses the above-average geomagnetic storm that occurred on 17-18 March 2015 and resulted in the aurora being visible further from the poles than usual. In the United States, the aurora was seen as far south as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In the Southern Hemisphere, the aurora was visible as far north as Wellington, New Zealand, and in numerous locations across Australia. On average, auroras are only visible in Australia once or twice per the 11-year solar cycle. The VIIRS Day/Night Band captured images of both the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis on every orbit for an entire 24 hour period. An example of the aurora seen over Canada is shown in the figure below. Additional images, including animations and a discussion of the event may be found on the VIIRS Imagery Blog here: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/npp/blog/index.php/uncategorized/the-aurora-seen-around-the-world/  (C. Seaman)

Figure: VIIRS Day/Night Band image of the aurora borealis over Canada (07:57 UTC 17 March 2015).

VIIRS Arctic Blog Post: The blog, Seeing the Light: VIIRS in the Arctic has been updated with a new post titled, “The nice (and dedicated) people of N-ICE.” This blog post discusses the current and ongoing field experiment in the Arctic: the Norwegian Young Sea Ice Cruise (N-ICE 2015). This experiment began in January 2015 and is expected to continue until the end of July 2015. One of CIRA’s senior research scientists, Dr. Glen Liston, spent the first six weeks of the field experiment onboard the research vessel (RV) Lance collecting snow measurements in support of the mission. The RV Lance was intentionally frozen in the Arctic ice sheet to monitor the life cycle of young (first year) ice. The VIIRS Day/Night Band was able to track the RV Lance as it flowed with the ice sheet during the long polar night. This blog post contains numerous animations of VIIRS Day/Night Band images and additional discussion about this unique field experiment. The post is available at this link: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/alaska/blog/index.php/uncategorized/the-nice-and-dedicated-people-of-n-ice/ (C. Seaman)

GOES-14 1-minute Imagery:  On 18 May 2015 GOES-14 began collecting 1-minute imagery as part of an experiment to prepare for GOES-R.  The data were collected via the CIRA ground station, converted to AWIPS-2 and NAWIPS formats for the NWS, then sent out via LDM for use in operations.  Data was also sent to NCAR to support the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) campaign.  PECAN is a multi-agency project (NSF, NOAA, NASA, DOE) designed to advance the understanding of continental, nocturnal, warm-season precipitation.  Latency at the individual offices is 2-3 minutes after the image time stamp.  The data is also being tested at the Operations Proving Ground in Kansas City, as well as the Hazardous Weather Testbed in Norman, OK.  We’ve had lots of positive feedback from the NWS so far.  The Storm Prediction Center is also receiving a real time feed from CIRA and mentioned the imagery in this Mesoscale Discussion: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md0713.htmlAn example loop showing a supercell over Texas is here: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/dev/lindsey/loops/19may15_g14_vis.gif.  The experiment runs until 12 June 2015.  (D. Lindsey, D. Molenar)

De-striping of GOES Sounder Split-Window Blowing Dust Product:  After years of being produced and made available online as a decision aid, the GOES Sounder split-window blowing dust product has been recently improved by implementing a de-striping algorithm.  That de-striping was developed many years ago but never implemented for this product until now.  The Dust Product continues to have interested users, such as Max Bleiweiss from New Mexico State University, who lets us know whenever the production of this product fails for any reason.  The Split-Window bands (11 and 12 µm) will return with GOES-R, but at much higher spatial resolution (2 km) than these 10 km GOES Sounder images.  The GOES Imager used to have these split-window bands on GOES-8 through GOES-11.  This product is available online at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/goes-r_proving_ground.asp  (D. Hillger)

Figure 1a: CIRA split-window dust product from the GOES-15 Sounder at 07 UTC on 15 April 2015.  Note the severe detector-to-detector striping (horizontal lines) in the yellow highlighted areas, which in this case denote surface temperature inversions or soil conditions.  Blowing dust would appear either red or purple in the enhancement used.  Surface winds are plotted as well, often with strong winds in the area of blowing dust.

Figure 1b: Same as Figure 1a except at 04 UTC on 12 May 2015, after de-striping was implemented, and showing meteorological conditions somewhat similar (but a different date and time) to those in Figure 1a.  Note the reduced detector-to-detector striping compared to Figure 1a, creating a much more appealing product.

VIIRS Online Imagery: It’s time to review the (random) VIIRS granule imagery that is captured and displayed online at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/npp_viirs.asp.  The attached images are examples of the center-halves of VIIRS granules, the first one (Figure 1) over the tropics (SE Asia in particular) and the other one (Figure 2) over the Arctic (capturing Svalbard Islands of Norway).  The figure captions explain the colors of the three-color/RGB imagery.  These images are part of the quality control/validation that is ongoing for VIIRS Imagery, while at the same time providing examples of a few image products that VIIRS can produce, particularly 3-color/RGB combinations that are good for discriminating different types of land cover and different cloud types. (D. Hillger)

Figure 1a:  The center half of a VIIRS “Natural-color” RGB granule from 15 April 2015 at 0646 UTC over SE Asia.  Red component (1.61 µm), green component (0.865 µm), blue component (0.64 µm), resulting in vegetated land in green, low/water clouds in white, and high/ice clouds in cyan.  Ocean surfaces are dark, aside from the large area of sun glint just to the lower-left of the center of the image.

Figure 1b:  The center half of a Rayleigh-corrected VIIRS “True-color” RGB granule from 2015-04-15 at 0646 UTC over SE Asia, covering the same land area as in Figure 1a.  Red (0.67 µm), green (0.55 µm), blue (0.49 µm), resulting in colors that humans on the ISS would observe.

Figure 1c:  The location of the VIIRS granules in Figures 1a and 1b on a Mollewide projection of the Earth.

Figure 2a: The center half of a VIIRS “Natural-color” RGB granule from 2015-04-15 at 0846 UTC over the Arctic, with Svalbard in the upper center, mostly covered by low clouds in white, and surrounded by either ice or ice cloud in cyan.  Note that sea ice edges in particular are detailed, provided they are not obscured by overlying clouds.

Figure 2b:  The location of the VIIRS granules in Figure 2a on a Mollewide projection of the Earth.

VIIRS Imagery Calibration/Validation Plan:  T. Kopp and D. Hillger have completed a first draft of the JPSS “Calibration/Validation Plan for EDR Imagery Product.”  The first draft is due 30 June 2015, and the final version is due 31 December 2015.  (D. Hillger, T. Kopp)

VIIRS Imagery slides for JPSS Program Management Review: A set of slides were drafted for the JPSS StAR FY16 Program Management Review.  The slides were sent to L. Zhou.  A presentation associated with the slides will likely take place in June 2015.  (D. Hillger)

Day-Night-Band (DNB) Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM): The VIIRS EDR Imagery Team participated in the DNB TIM on 9 April 2015.  The meeting covered the available options for dealing with the end-of-scan non-linearity issues discovered during thermal testing of the JPSS-1 VIIRS DNB.  Two options for changes in pixel aggregation were discussed, with the VIIRS SDR Team preparing for either or both options.  Both geo-location and calibration issues related to the DNB changes are being considered.  The choice of solutions is also dependent on the needs of end users, in particular those in Alaska, who are quite the advocates of DNB Imagery.  The EDR Team hopes to test the effects on any DNB changes on the NCC product at some point, hopefully before the launch of JPSS-1, as that is one of the un-resolved questions for end users of NCC.  (D. Hillger, T. Kopp, S. Miller, C. Seaman)

GOES-14 Imagery with Lightning Data:  In collaboration with Prof. Steve Rutledge and his group at CSU’s Dept. of Atmospheric Science, a real-time feed of data from the Colorado Lightning Mapping Array has been set up to RAMMB/CIRA.  The total lightning point locations are being plotted on top of the GOES-14 visible 1-minute imagery and made available on the web in real time at this link: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=dev/lindsey/loops/g14_vis_lma&image_width=1020&image_height=720&number_of_images_to_display=50&loop_speed_ms=80  Note that this loop is only available on days in which the GOES-14 1-min sector happens to include eastern Colorado.  Total lightning provides a nice proxy for the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, an instrument that will be aboard GOES-R next year.  This data and imagery are being archived for future research purposes.  An example image is below.  (D. Lindsey, D. Molenar, S. Miller)

Figure.  Example GOES-14 Visible imagery with flashes from the Colorado Lightning Mapping Array overlaid in blue.

Himawari Imagery:  Work continues on developing a local webpage to provide an easy method for researchers to begin looking at imagery from the newly-launched Himawari-8 satellite.  D. Molenar built a dedicated machine to ingest and process the raw data, and D. Lindsey has been working on scripts to display various bands over several different sectors.  The 3.9 μm band has shown a drastic improvement over its counterpart on GOES due primarily to its improved resolution (2 km v/s 4 km) – hotspots associated with fires in southeastern Russia are so well-resolved that one can track the linear fire-line as it races horizontally in strong winds.  Some band difference images are also in the process of being added to the webpage.  (D. Lindsey, D. Molenar)

Himawari Data:  Data from Himawari-8’s Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) began flowing from STAR to RAMMB/CIRA, and D. Lindsey wrote a fortran reader so that the data can be made into imagery and used by researchers in preparation for GOES-R.  The AHI is very similar to GOES-R’s ABI, and therefore serves as the single best ABI proxy dataset.  Below is an example IR band 13 (10.4 μm) image of Super Typhoon Maysag, and a 0.5 km band 3 visible loop is here: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=dev/lindsey/loops/31mar15_ahi_band3&image_width=1020&image_height=720 .  Himawari-8 imagery is also now being provided in real-time here: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/himawari-8.asp  The software to read the raw AHI format has been shared with both the Naval Research Lab and SPoRT.  (D. Lindsey, D. Molenar, K. Micke)

Figure.  Himawari-8 10.4 μm image of Super Typhoon Maysak from 31 March at 0200 UTC.

Total Lightning Data: D. Lindsey and S. Miller met with CSU Atmospheric Science Professor Steve Rutledge and his student Brody Fuchs to discuss collaboration on a project involving geostationary satellite data and total lightning data from the Colorado Total Lightning Mapping Array.  GOES-R will carry the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, so there is great interest in understanding what information colocations of lightning information with satellite data might provide.  A web page has been set up to display real-time total lightning flashes overlaid on GOES-13 Visible imagery here: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=dev/lindsey/loops/g13_vis_lma&image_width=900&image_height=520&number_of_images_to_display=45.  A new graduate student of Prof. Rutledge’s will arrive this Fall, and D. Lindsey and S. Miller plan to work with her on a GLM-related research project.  (D. Lindsey and S. Miller)

CIRA GOES-R Groundsystem Status:   Progress on the implementation of the CIRA GOES-R groundsystem is on target.  Receiver hardware is due to arrive in May.  The necessary Colorado State University Facilities paperwork needed to pour the pad is complete.   Data from the GOES-R Simulator and STAR Himawari service is being used to evaluate high speed data storage requirements.  Storage platforms from several vendors are under review.   Design of a web based platform to serve GOES-R data is underway.  (D. Molenar, D. Lindsey, D. Hillger, J. Knaff, M. Hiatt, N. Tourville, S. Finley, K. Micke, S. Miller, R. Brummer)

WRF-ARW P3-MICROPHYSICS:  In the past, microphysical routines have partitioned microphysical habit types into distinct categories. For example, ice-water was portioned into three habit types: ice, snow, and graupel. Mass and number are then two prognostic quantities for each of the three ice-water habit types; thus, six predictive equations. A new microphysics in WRF-ARW, P3, treats ice-water as one category and thus predicts only two quantities: mass and number. Radiative transfer routines, however, require mass and number for ice, snow, and graupel as distinct ice-water habit types. One consequence, therefore, is to develop a procedure to partition the one ice-water habit of P3 into three distinct habits: ice, snow, and graupel. Such a procedure was developed at CIRA and the resulting synthetic GOES-13 image at 10.7 µm is shown along with observations. (L. Grasso)

Figure: Synthetic (left) and observed (right) GOES-13 at 10.7 µm.

HWRF-V3.6 SIMULATION:  Hurricane Leslie was simulated using the operational version of HWRF version 3.6. One goal was to assimilate satellite retrieved liquid and ice condensate into HWRF. Synthetic imagery was produced to aid in the comparison of the simulated storm with observations. Remapped synthetic and observed imagery, on the same domain, is displayed for grid1, grid2, and grid3. (L. Grasso)

Figure: Synthetic (left) and observed (right) GOES-13 at 10.7 µm of hurricane Leslie for grid 1.

Figure: Synthetic (left) and observed (right) GOES-13 at 10.7 µm of hurricane Leslie for grid 2.

Figure: Synthetic (left) and observed (right) GOES-13 at 10.7 µm of hurricane Leslie for grid 3.

RAMMB/CIRA near real-time Himawari ingest: The RAMMB/CIRA near real-time Himawari ingest from StAR serves a 3-week rotating archive of data to RAMMB/CIRA research staff.  To date, 10 cases supporting research on typhoons, blowing dust and severe storms are available from permanent archive.  (D. Molenar and D. Lindsey)

New GOES-R 4.5 m antenna installed:   Data from the GOES-R Simulator and STAR Himawari service is being used to evaluate high speed data storage requirements.  Storage platforms from several vendors are under review.   Design of a web-based platform to serve GOES-R data is underway.  (D. Lindsey, D. Molenar, M. Hiatt, N. Tourville, S. Finley)

Coordination with SPoRT: RAMMB/CIRA provided access to the real-time STAR Himawari-8 AHI imagery to researchers from the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center. The data will be used in case study development. (D. Molenar)

Training metrics for the quarter:

• Teletraining:

12 VISIT teletraining sessions have been delivered.  There were 15 teletraining signups, 22 students participated.

• Learning Management System (LMS) audio / video playback modules:

Registrations:  107

Completions:  79

LMS totals from January 2005 through 10 June 2015:

Registrations:  7880

Completions: 5056

Definitions used in LMS metrics:

Registrations:  The number of students who either clicked on the course, or actually took the course, but did not complete the quiz or achieve a passing grade upon taking the quiz.  A student may have registered for multiple courses.

Completions:  The number of students that achieved a passing grade on a quiz for a course.  A student may have completed multiple courses this way.

VISIT Satellite Chats:

Figure 1.  VISIT Satellite Chat from 21 May 2015.

There were 3 VISIT satellite chat sessions this quarter:

1) 2 April – featured the severe weather event of 25 March that took place over Oklahoma.  There were 4 NWS WFOs in attendance.

2) 16 April – featured on a significant western trough with accompanying severe weather in Texas and snow in the mountains of Colorado.  There were 2 NWS WFOs in attendance.

3) 21 May – Highlighted the GOES-14 SRSOR 1-minute imagery.  This included information on the 1-minute imagery, how long the 1-minute imagery would be available, examples from recent blog entries (see Fig. 1), and how to receive the data in their AWIPS via LDM.  There were 7 NWS WFOs in attendance.

As of 10 June 2015, there have been 73 VISIT Satellite Chat sessions for a total of 133 NWS forecast office / national center signups. 

Recorded versions of past satellite chat sessions are available here:

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/visit/satellite_chat/

New training sessions that debuted this quarter:

Tracking the Elevated Mixed Layer with a new GOES-R Water Vapor Band (by Dan Bikos, Ed Szoke, and Dan Lindsey).  This training session describes a technique to track the elevated mixed layer (EML) that can be an important ingredient for severe thunderstorm events. Currently, a blend of soundings and GOES sounder 7.4 µm band is utilized, however with GOES-R the 7.34 µm band will be available at much higher spatial and temporal resolution, making this technique much more efficient to apply.  This will become part of the SHyMet GOES-R instruments and products course. This can be viewed at: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/visit/training_sessions/tracking_the_elevated_mixed_layer_with_a_new_goes_r_water_vapor_band/

Ongoing development of new VISIT training sessions:

• Sky cover forecasting with synthetic imagery
• Sky cover analysis product
• GOES-R Split Window Difference product for Convective Initiation
• Identification of dust via RGB (red blue green) satellite imagery

VISIT web-page traffic:

• The following is a summary of VISIT web-page traffic for the quarter (1 April 2015 through 10 June 2015), there were 3766 pageviews:

VISIT Meteorological Interpretation Blog – (http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/visit/blog/) The blog had 348 pageviews this quarter.

Meetings and Calls

VISIT/SHyMet had conference calls on 19 May 2015.

Dan Bikos, Bernie Connell, and Ed Szoke participated in the 2015 Satellite Proving Ground / User Readiness Meeting in Kansas City during 15-19 June 2015.  The week started off with a training meeting focused on better integrating the Satellite Liaisons, NWS Training entities, and the Cooperative Institutes in to the overall NWS Training Plan for GOES-R and JPSS.  The rest of the week was full of lively and informative presentations and many interactions on the many aspects of training development and delivery.

1. Preparations for the SHyMet course:  GOES-R Instruments, Products, and Operational Applications

• Web pages are being drafted and reviewed internally and externally with partner organizations.
  • http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/shymet/goes-r_intro.asp

Preparations and participation in the NOAA Satellite Conference, 23 April – 1 May. 

• B. Connell gave a presentation on VISIT/SHyMet training activities in Session 4.1. 
• B. Connell was a moderator for Session 4.2 “International Perspectives on Training and User Access to Imagery and Products.”
• Preparations and delivery of the NOAA/WMO Train the Trainer workshop focusing on GEONETCast on 25-26 April.
  • Hands on session on how to view geotiff imagery, which are currently being made available via GNC-A.
  • Hands on session on how to create an RGB image utilizing MODIS and VIIRS imager.  This was linked to preparations for GOES-R and the many channels that will be available on the ABI.

2. Metrics for the 4 existing SHyMet courses:

Metrics for the 4 SHyMet courses:

Non-NOAA:

Intern:  44 Registrations; 14 known completions

Over the past couple of years, the NWS experienced budget cuts that resulted in a hiring freeze and much reduced training.  It is good to see that the course completions are starting to pick up again.  We continue to find bugs in the CLC LMS, so we are hopeful that the new Learning Management System will allow for easier tracking of individual modules and overall course completions.  It is interesting to note that 80% of the Interns that took this course during this quarter completed it in less than a month. (D. Bikos, B. Connell, E. Szoke)

3. International training that builds on efforts of the VISIT and SHyMet Programs, and enhances communication and exchange of information with international training partners:

The WMO Virtual Laboratory Regional Focus Group of the Americas and Caribbean conducted 2 monthly bilingual (English/Spanish) weather briefings (16 April and 28 May, the June session will be on the 25^th).  The briefings made use of VISITview software to present GOES and POES satellite imagery and SHyMet staff assisted in partial preparation for the sessions.  (B. Connell)

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Users subgroup telecon:  B. Connell hosted a GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Users subgroup telecon on 11 June 2015.  We first reviewed basic functions of the WMO Coordination Group on Satellite Data Requirements in Regions II and IV, the NOAA GNC-A Coordination Group, and the WMO/CGMS VLab and how we can interact and leverage what each of the groups do.  We then made lists of what free or low cost software packages were available to display imagery as well available and desirable training on ways to use the data and products on the GNC-A system.  Another item of particular interest was how to interact with the content sub-group to suggest a new product to be put on GNC-A or to remove from GNC to make room for new products.  (B. Connell)

AWIPS II Simulated WRF GOES-R ABI imagery ingest and display assistance: AWIPS II Simulated WRF GOES-R ABI imagery ingest and display assistance has been provided to the following NWS Forecast Offices:  Portland, OR; Anchorage, AK;  Minneapolis, MN;  Monterey, CA; Missoula, MT;  Salt Lake City, UT;  Austin, TX;  Rapid City, SD; and Burlington, VT.  (D. Molenar, D. Lindsey, E. Szoke)

CONUS GeoColor sector defined for NWS:  A larger CONUS GeoColor sector was defined per NWS Satellite Liaison requests.  The real-time NAWIPS version of new product is now being sent to the NWS National Centers.  (D. Molenar, D. Lindsey, S. Miller)

Figure 1.  RAMMB/CIRA GeoColor image covering new larger NWS National Centers’ sector.  Areas of fog are highlighted in pink.  

Monthly International Weather Briefings

The WMO Virtual Laboratory Regional Focus Group of the Americas and Caribbean conducted 3 monthly bilingual (English/Spanish) weather briefings (31 March, 16 April, and 28 May 2015; another briefing will be held 25 June).  The briefings made use of VISITview software to present GOES and POES satellite Imagery from CIRA and GoToWebinar for image and voice communication over the Internet.  There were participants from the U.S.: CIRA, the NWS International Desk at WPC/NCEP, and NOAA/NWS Office of the Chief Learning Officer (OCLO), as well as outside the U.S.: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Nigeria, Panamá, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, Uruguay.  The participants include researchers and students as well as forecasters and other trainers.  The 3 sessions were well attended as represented by 11, 12, and 9 countries and 19, 21, and 27 participants respectively for March, April, and May.  Mike Davison at NCEP International Desk led the discussions.  Typically, the sessions include a look at Water Vapor imagery for a synoptic overview of Central America and the Caribbean as well as for South America.  The IR 10.7 µm imagery and Visible imagery are used to look more closely at weather features.  We look at MJO patterns and the outlook, Total Precipitable Water (TPW) patterns, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and anomalies.  Imagery from a recent weather feature is often highlighted.  Recordings of the three sessions as well as previous sessions can be found online:  http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/rmtc/fg_recording.asp  (B. Connell)

Sharing of Imagery and Products

Imagery for Central and South America and the Caribbean can be viewed at one location through RAMSDIS Online – look for the 4-week archive feature:  (http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/rmtc.asp).  (K. Micke and D. Watson)

Look for information on our activities on the VLab/ Regional Training Center web page. http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/rmtc/  (B. Connell)

GEONETCast Americas VLab Training Channel

B. Connell hosted a GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Users subgroup telecon on 11 June 2015.  We first reviewed basic functions of the WMO Coordination Group on Satellite Data Requirements in Regions II and IV, the NOAA GNC-A Coordination Group, and the WMO/CGMS VLab and how we can interact and leverage what each of the groups do.  We then made lists of what free or low cost software packages were available to display imagery as well available and desirable training on ways to use the data and products on the GNC-A system.  Another item of particular interest was how to interact with the content sub-group to suggest a new product to be put on GNC-A or to remove from GNC to make room for new products.  (B. Connell)

NOAA/WMO Train the Trainer Workshop on Satellite Data Access, Application, and GEONETCast Americas, 25-26 April 2015. 

(B. Connell)

• Presentation on Regional Focus Groups and Training.
• Hands on session: “Satellite data processing and visualization software McIDAS-V”.  How to view geotiff imagery: import the data, put on a map, apply a color table, and do simple calculations (ie. converting from K to C).  , Geotiff images are currently being made available via GNC-A,
• Hands on session on how to create an RGB image utilizing VIIRS imagery is being prepared.  This will be linked to preparations for GOES-R and the many channels that will be available on the ABI.
• Brief presentation and instructions were also provided on access to archive data for training cases from the NOAA Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS)

NOAA Satellite Conference: 23 April – 1 May 2015.  Preparations and participation. 

• B. Connell gave a presentation on VISIT/SHyMet training activities in Session 4.1 on Thursday. 
• B. Connell was a moderator for Session 4.2 “International Perspectives on Training and User Access to Imagery and Products.”

Novra 300 modem firmware update: performed the firmware update on the Novra 300 modem using the Planetary Data’s instructions.  This was to fix some bugs and improve performance on NOAAPort/SBN feed. (H. Gosden)

CIRA LDM Server Configuration: configured two LDM Linux server systems.  One system will replace the currently LDM server, and the other will serve as a backup. (H. Gosden)

New NUCAPS System: A new linux server Rammb-nucaps system was configured to server NUCAPS data for RAMMB group at CIRA. (H. Gosden)

Offsite Backup: A new round of offsite backup of “impossible to replace” satellite/model datasets were performed. (H. Gosden)

New linux system:  A new linux system has been configured to support ingest of expanded GFS and HWRF model runs for the upcoming hurricane season.  (D. Molenar, K. Musgrave, S. Finley, H. Gosden)

Two new linux workstations for Hollings Scholar: Two new linux workstations have been configured to support research staff and a Hollings Scholar student researcher working with Earth Networks Total Lightning Network data. (D. Molenar, A. Schumacher, N. Tourville, B. Trabing)

New 50 TB high speed NAS device:  A new 50 TB high speed NAS device has been configured to support expanded VIIRS (ATMS & NUCAPS) data ingest.  (D. Molenar, M. Hiatt, G. Chirokova)

RAMMB Web Server Gets Record Traffic:  On 9 June 2015, as Tropical Cyclone Ashobaa (IO012015, Figure 1) was about to make landfall in Oman, the RAMMB web server got a record spike in traffic. One loop on the TC Realtime website (http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/products/tc_realtime/) was responsible for 133,849 sessions (96.77% of total sessions for the day, Figure 2). The vast majority of the traffic came from Oman, with a significant amount coming from other countries on the Arabian Peninsula, as shown in Figure 3. To put the amount of traffic in perspective, on a normal day during hurricane season, the entire web server usually gets 3,000-5,000 sessions. (J. Knaff, K. Micke)

Figure 1: Enhanced Infrared (IR) Imagery (4 km Mercator projection) of Tropical Cyclone Ashobaa (IO012015) as it was about to make landfall in Oman, shown in RAMMB’s HTML5 image looper.

Figure 2: Screenshot of 30 days of data for web traffic to the RAMMB server, highlighting the spike in traffic surrounding the June 9 landfall of Tropical Cyclone Ashobaa (IO012015).

Figure 3: Screenshot showing the ranked order of the top 10 countries from which all web traffic came to the RAMMB server on 9 June 2015.

To Accepted and Submitted Publications  To Presentations and Posters

Published:

• Refereed

Grasso, L.D., D.T. Lindsey, C.J. Seaman, B.Stocks, and R.M. Rabin, 2015: Satellite Observations of Plume-Like Streaks in a Cloud Field in Canada. Pure Appl. Geo. Doi:10.1007/s00024-015-1076-z

Knaff, J.A. and C. R. Sampson, 2015: After a decade are Atlantic tropical cyclone gale force wind radii forecasts now skillful? Wea. Forecasting, 30:3, 702–709. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-14-00149.1

Miller, S.D., 2015: Night Watch. A satellite sensor that can see in the dark is revealing new information for meteorologists, firefighters, search teams and researchers worldwide. Scientific American, 312:5, 78-81.

Schmit, T., S. Goodman, M. Gunshor, J. Sieglaff, A. Heidinger, S. Bachmeier, A. Terborg, J. Feltz, K. Ba, S. Rudlosky, D.T. Lindsey, R. Rabin, and C. Schmidt, 2015: Rapid refresh imagery of significant events: preparing users for the next generation of geostationary operational satellites. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 96:4, 561-576. /doi/full/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00210.1

Tourville, N., G. Stephens, M. DeMaria, 2015: Cloudsat and A-TRAIN Observations of Tropical Cyclones. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 96:4, 609-622.

• Nonrefereed

See Presentations and Posters.

Accepted:

• Refereed 

Folmer, M, M. DeMaria, R. Ferraro, J. Beven, M. Brennan, J. Daniels, R. Kuligowski, H. Meng, S. Rudlosky, L. Zhao, J.A. Knaff, S. Kusselson, S. Miller, T. Schmit, C. Velden, and B. Zavodsky, 2015: Satellite tools to monitor and predict Hurricane Sandy (2012): Current and emerging products. Atmospheric Research.

Gochis, D., R. Schumacher, K. Friedrich, N. Doesken, M. Kelsch, J. 4 Sun, K. Ikeda, D.T. Lindsey, A. Wood, B. Dolan, S. Matrosov, A. Newman, K. Mahoney, S. Rutledge, R. Johnson, P. Kucera, P. Kennedy, D. Sempere-Torres, M. Steiner, R. Roberts, J. Wilson, W. Yu, V. Chandrasekar, R. Rasmussen, A. Anderson, B. Brown, 2015: The great Colorado flood of September 2013. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Goni, G.J., J.A. Knaff, and I-I Lin, 2015: [The Tropics] Tropical cyclone heat potential [in “State of the Climate in 2014”]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.

Grasso, L.D., D.T. Lindsey, K.-S. Lim, A. Clark, D. Bikos, 2015: Evaluation of and Suggested Improvements to the WSM6 Microphysics in WRF-ARW Using Synthetic and Observed GOES-13 Imagery. Monthly Weather Review.

Kaplan, J., C. M. Rozoff, M. DeMaria, C.R. Sampson, J.P. Kossin, C.S. Velden, J.J. Cione, J.P. Dunion, J.A. Knaff, J. A. Zhang, J.F. Dostalek, J.D. Hawkins, T.F. Lee, and J.E. Solbrig, 2015: Evaluating environmental impacts on tropical cyclone rapid intensification predictability utilizing statistical models. Wea. Forecasting.

Knaff, J.A., S.P. Longmore, R.T. DeMaria, D.A. Molenar, 2015: Improved tropical cyclone flight-level wind estimates using routine infrared satellite reconnaissance. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology.

Lang, T.J., S.A. Rutledge, B. Dolan, P. Krehbiel, W. Rison, D.T. Lindsey, 2015: Lightning in Wildfire Smoke Plumes Observed in Colorado during Summer 2012. Mon.Wea.Rev.

Longmore, S., S.D. Miller, D. Bikos, D.T. Lindsey, E. Szoke, D.A. Molenar, D.W. Hillger, R.L. Brummer, J.A. Knaff, 2015: An Automated Mobile Phone Photo Relay and Display Concept Applicable to Operational Severe Weather Monitoring. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. The paper is available on the AMS’s Early Online Releases and at doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-14-00230.1.

Manion, A., C. Evans, T.L. Olander, C.S. Velden, and L.D.Grasso; 2015: An evaluation of advanced Dvorak technique-derived tropical cyclone intensity estimates during extratropical transition using synthetic satellite imagery. Wea. Forecasting.

Sampson, C.R., and J.A. Knaff, 2015: A consensus forecast for tropical cyclone gale wind radii. Wea. Forecasting.

Seaman, C.J. and S.D. Miller, 2015: A dynamic scaling algorithm for the optimized digital display of VIIRS Day/Night Band imagery. Int. J. Rem. Sens.

• Nonrefereed

Submitted:

• Refereed 

Grasso, L.D., D.W. Hillger, M. Sengupta, 2015:  Demonstrating the Utility of the GOES-R 2.25 µm band for Fire Retrieval. Geophysical Research Letters.

Sampson, C. R., J. Hansen, P. Wittman, J.A. Knaff, and A B.Schumacher, 2015: Wave probabilities consistent with official tropical cyclone forecasts. Ocean Model.

Sampson, C.R., and J.A. Knaff, 2015: A consensus forecast for tropical cyclone gale wind radii. Wea. Forecasting.

• Nonrefereed 

Seaman, C., D.W. Hillger, T. Kopp, R. Williams, S.D. Miller and D.T. Lindsey, 2015: Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Imagery Environmental Data Record (EDR) User’s Guide. NOAA Technical Report, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, DC.

Presentations and Posters:

Bikos, D., S. Lindstrom, S. Bachmeier, B.H. Connell, and E. Szoke, 2015: 1-minute Imagery Training Resources available from VISIT / SHyMet. Presentation, Satellite Proving Ground / User Readiness Meeting, Kansas City, MO, 15 to 19 June.

Connell, B.H., D. Bikos, E. Szoke, S. Lindstrom and S. Bachmeier, 2015: Satellite Training from the Cooperative Institutes: VISIT and SHyMet Programs. 2015 NOAA Satellite Conference for Direct Readout, GOES/POES, and GOES-R/JPSS Users, Greenbelt, MD, 27 April to 1 May.

Connell, B.H., K.-A. Caesar, 2015: International Perspectives on Training and User Access to Imagery and Products. 2015 NOAA Satellite Conference for Direct Readout, GOES/POES, and GOES-R/JPSS Users, Greenbelt, MD, 27 April to 1 May.

Lindsey, D.T., L.D. Grasso, 2015: Band Differences in the GOES-R Era. Satellite Proving Ground / User Readiness Meeting, Kansas City, MO, 15 to 19 June.

Lindsey, D.T., L.D. Grasso, D. Bikos, 2015: Synthetic Satellite Imagery: A New Tool for GOES-R User Readiness and Cloud Forecast Visualization. 215 NOAA Satellite Conference: Preparing for the Future of Environmental Satellites. Greenbelt, MD, 27 April to 1 May.

Chirokova, G., M. DeMaria, R.T. DeMaria, J.A. Knaff, J.F. Dostalek, and J.L. Beven, 2015: Use of JPSS ATMS and VIIRS data to Improve Tropical Cyclone Track and Intensity Forecasting. 215 NOAA Satellite Conference: Preparing for the Future of Environmental Satellites. Greenbelt, MD, 27 April to 1 May.

Miller, S.D., W. Straka III, C. Combs, C. Seaman and J. Yue, 2015: Not-So Silent Night: Suomi NPP’s Day/Night Band Makes Waves as a Disruptive Technology to Characterization of the Nocturnal Environment. 215 NOAA Satellite Conference: Preparing for the Future of Environmental Satellites. Greenbelt, MD, 27 April to 1 May.

Miller, S.D., W. Straka, III, and C. Seaman, 2015: Night Shift: Exploring Forecaster Benefits of the VIIRS Day/Night Band.Satellite Proving Ground / User Readiness Meeting, Kansas City, MO, 15 to 19 June.

Hillger, D.W., C. Seaman, S.D. Miller, T. Kopp, R. Williams and G. Mineart, 2015: Suomi NPP VIIRS Imagery Update. 215 NOAA Satellite Conference: Preparing for the Future of Environmental Satellites. Greenbelt, MD, 27 April to 1 May.

Quiros, E., and N. Alvarado, 2015: Using Satellite Information in Energy Applications in Costa Rica. 215 NOAA Satellite Conference: Preparing for the Future of Environmental Satellites. Greenbelt, MD, 27 April to 1 May.

Schumacher, A.B., 2015: Upgrades to the Operational Monte Carlo Wind Speed Probability Program. 6th NOAA Testbed and Proving Ground Workshop, 14-16 April 2015, Boulder, CO.

Schumacher, A.B. and M. DeMaria, 2015: Preparing for the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper at the National Hurricane Center. 2015 OCONUS Technical Interchange Meeting, 12-15 May 2015, Anchorage, AK.

Seaman, C.: “Three Years of VIIRS.” Guest Lecture at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (Oral Presentation), Fairbanks, AK, 20 May 2015.

Seaman, C., G. Chirokova, J.F. Dostalek, L.D. Grasso, J.A. Knaff, D.T. Lindsey, S. Miller and A.B. Schumacher: “Satellite Proving Ground OCONUS Activities at CIRA.” OCONUS Technical Interchange Meeting (Oral Presentation), Anchorage, AK, 15 May 2015.

Seaman, C. and S. D. Miller: “Into the Light: Illuminating the Capabilities of the VIIRS Day/Night Band.” OCONUS Technical Interchange Meeting (Oral Presentation), Anchorage, AK, 12 May 2015.

Notes:

D. Bikos, D. Lindsey, B. Connell, E. Szoke and A. Schumacher attended the Satellite Proving Ground / User Readiness Meeting in Kansas City, MO 15-19 June 2015. The week started off with a training meeting focused on better integrating the Satellite Liaisons, NWS Training entities, and the Cooperative Institutes in to the overall NWS Training Plan for GOES-R and JPSS. The rest of the week was full of lively and informative presentations and many interactions on the many aspects of training development and delivery.

B. Connell led the GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) User Sub-Group telecon on 11 June 2015.

CREST – NOAA Brown Bag Seminar: RAMMB participated via teleconference in the CREST Brown Bag seminar on 26 March 2015. The seminar was presented by A. Heidinger on the “PATMOS-x Contributions to the BAMS State of the Climate Report.” (D. Hillger, D. Lindsey)

CREST – NOAA Brown Bag Seminar: D. Hillger participated in the 23 April 2015 CREST-NOAA Brown Bag Seminar on “River Discharge – Modeling and Monitoring” given by Balazs Fekete, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and NOAA-CREST Faculty Affiliate. (D. Hillger)

CREST – NOAA Brown Bag Seminar: Three RAMMB feds participated in the 3 June 2015 CREST-NOAA Brown Bag Seminar titled “Observing Arctic Climate Change from Space” given by Dr. Jeff Key, Branch Chief, NOAA/NESDIS/StAR/ASPB. (D. Hillger, D. Lindsey, J. Knaff)

NOAA Satellite Conference: D. Hillger, D. Lindsey from StAR/RAMMB, and S. Miller, B. Connell, G. Chirokova from CIRA traveled to Greenbelt MD the week of 27 April thru 1 May 2015 to participate in the NOAA Satellite Conference for Direct Readout, GOES/POES, and GOES-R/JPSS Users. Although most attendees prepared posters, the conference included a full lineup of presentations on the wide range of changes expected in the soon-coming GOES-R era, with a planned launch date of 15 March 2016. The conference also allowed the opportunity for face-to-face meetings with many of whom we more often interact with via telephone and email.

1. UCAR SEA Conference:  Several members of the RAMMB/CIRA team traveled to Boulder to attend the annual 2015 UCAR SEA Conference 13-17 April 2015.  Conference topics included beginner and advanced python programming, HPC programming and tutorials in ipython, GIT, data visualization and testing/debugging.  (N. Tourville, S. Miller, K. Micke, S. Longmore)

2. CIRA visit to the Cheyenne National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO): Dan Bikos and Ed Szoke visited the Cheyenne WFO on 21 April 2015, primarily to meet with SOO (Scientific Operations Officer) Rob Cox to discuss a non-supercell tornado case near Cheyenne on 29 July 2013 and in particular the relationship between the tornado development and total lightning from the Colorado Lightning Mapping Array (COLMA).  Since non-supercell tornado formation is closely tied to an increasing updraft in a developing cell, we hypothesize that total lightning, which is also related to updraft strength, might be useful to trying to predict this non-traditional tornado.  We have extensively examined a non-supercell tornado that occurred over the Denver International Airport on 18 June 2013 and found a jump in the total lightning just prior to tornadogenesis for that case.  The hope is to combine the two cases into a short VISIT training session relating total lightning to non-supercell tornado formation, which should be of interest to forecasters since GOES-R, which will be launched in early 2016, will diagnose total lightning.   The Cheyenne WFO has been a GOES-R Proving Ground partner for several years, testing several CIRA products, so we also touched base with the status of their transition to AWIPS II during the visit.  (E. Szoke, D. Bikos)

3. Trip to the National Hurricane Center:  J. Knaff traveled to Miami for a working visit to NHC the week of 27 April – 1 May 2015.  While there he: 1) met with TAFB forecaster N. Ramos to discuss Proving Ground products their use and things that would help operations, 2) met with C. Mello to discuss AWIPS-2 progress, 3) worked to install new capabilities (IR PCs and blended TPW) on the NCEP WCOSS supercomputer, 4) helped NHC start ingesting the expanded GOES-E CONUS sector on their ground station, 5) gave a seminar on “Potential Applications of Satellite-Derived Tropical Cyclone Size Estimates,” and 6) met with C. Landsea to discuss our JHT project to estimate surface wind fields from satellite and aircraft data.  (J. Knaff)

CSU Dean of Engineering Open Forum: The CSU Dean of Engineering, David McLean, visited CIRA on 19 March 2015, which included an open forum for questions and answers. Interestingly, much of the discussion revolved around parking issues and bus service to our foothills campus location. However, there were also questions about grant management and infrastructure. CSU is planning an expansion in both student size and facilities in the next several years. (D. Hillger)

Imagery of Calbuco Eruption:  On 22-23 April 2015, the Calbuco volcano in Chile erupted, and was captured by both GOES-13 and VIIRS.  wired.com used the image on the left below and provided a link to one of RAMMB/CIRA’s animations in this article: http://www.wired.com/2015/04/chiles-calbuco-unleashes-dramatic-explosive-eruption/  Additionally, permission was asked for (and granted) by NBC News to use these images. (D. Lindsey)

Figure: GOES-13 Visible image near sunset showing the eruption of the Calbuco Volcano in Chile (left), and VIIRS I-band 5 image from 0513 UTC.

VIIRS Imagery: VIIRS imagery generated at RAMMB/CIRA of Super Typhoon Noul was used by the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang for the cover of this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/05/11/stunning-imagery-of-typhoon-noul-and-a-preview-of-the-next-pacific-powerhouse-dolphin/

(D. Lindsey)

Imagery used in USA Today:  Imagery and information from D. Lindsey was used by USA Today in this article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/06/10/wildfire-smoke-canada/71006006/ regarding smoke from Canadian wildfires over the U.S.  (D. Lindsey)

VIIRS Imagery on The Weather Channel: VIIRS imagery produced at RAMMB/CIRA appeared on the Weather Channel and their website here: http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-mystery-behind-hurricane-blancas-change/vi-BBkJahq as part of their coverage of Hurricane Blanca in the eastern Pacific. (D. Lindsey)

NASA Earth Observatory Image of the Day:  D. Lindsey contributed information and was quoted in this NASA Earth Observatory Image of the Day: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86011&eocn=home&eoci=iotd_readmore from 11 June 2015.  (D. Lindsey)

Weather Underground Blog:  D. Lindsey contributed to a blog entry by Weather Underground on the westward moving tornado near Berthoud, CO, on 4 June 2015: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3016

VIIRS DNB Imagery in UAF-GI Quarterly Magazine: Thanks to charitable assistance from Stephanie Weiss (Northrup Grumman), CIRA was able to acquire stray-light corrected Day/Night Band imagery for the Kiska Sea event (13 February 2013). During this event, the Alaska Ice Desk was able to utilize the VIIRS Day/Night Band to assist the crab vessel, Kiska Sea, in navigating out of harm’s way after nearly becoming stranded on the edge of the ice sheet in the Bering Sea. This event took place before the stray-light correction for the Day/Night Band became operational. Thanks to help from Stephanie Weiss, stray-light corrected imagery from this event is now available. These images have been provided to the Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF), and will appear in an upcoming issue of the UAF Geophysical Institute’s Quarterly Magazine. The Kiska Sea has appeared on the long-running Discovery Channel series, “The Deadliest Catch.” (C. Seaman, S. Miller)

Start of a Hollings Scholar Internship:  Ben Trabing (U. Oklahoma) arrived in Fort Collins and has started working on his Hollings Scholar project to investigate details of long-range lightning observations (Earth Networks and World Wide Lightning Location Network) as Hurricane Isaac (2012) tracked across the Gulf of Mexico.  (J. Knaff, A. Schumacher, K. Musgrave, B. Trabing)

CIRA Annual Review Process:  The CIRA Annual Review Process has been completed for RAMMB/CIRA IT staff.  (D. Molenar, R. Brummer, M. Hiatt, H. Gosden, K. Micke, D. Watson)

Three new hourly employees were hired by CIRA/RAMMB:  Two of the hourlies (a CSU college freshman and a Fort Collins high school junior) started immediately.  The third (a CSU college freshman) will start work in the fall as part of CSU’s work-study program.  The hourly employees help researchers in a variety of tasks including data retrieval, scanning and copying, and presentation preparation.  If an hourly shows interest, instructions on programming are given and simple coding tasks are assigned.  (J. Dostalek)

Special CIRA Retreat:  C. Kummerow, CIRA Director, arranged a special CIRA retreat on 14 April 2015 at CSU’s Tamasag (Gasamat spelled backwards) facility in Bellvue CO to brainstorm ideas to help facilitate new ways to assimilate satellite data into numerical models.  This brought together both satellite specialists and model specialists from among CIRA folks working in both the Fort Collins and Boulder locations.  A written summary of the retreat and the initial planned actions will be sent to all participants for follow-up.  (D. Hillger, D. Lindsey, J. Knaff, L. Grasso)

CIRA Council and Fellows Meeting:  D. Hillger, as Acting RAMMB Chief, Steve Miller, as CIRA Deputy Director, and Bernie Connell, as a Training Expert, participated in the CIRA Council and Fellows Meeting held on 6 May 2015.  The meeting gave a short overview of CIRA activities both on campus (in Fort Collins), as well as off campus (in Boulder and Maryland).  At the end of the meeting, feedback about the direction of CIRA was requested from CIRA Fellows both at the meeting and on the telephone hookup.  (D. Hillger, S. Miller, B. Connell)

Publication training workshop attendance:  J. Knaff and K. Musgrave attended a webinar entitled “How to Get Your Article Published: An author workshop” by Dr. Luaine Bandounas (Elsevier). This workshop was part of the NOAA central library’s seminar series. (J. Knaff, K. Musgrave)

2015 UCAR Software Engineering Assembly (SEA) Conference: H. Gosden attended 2015 SEA conference in Boulder, CO.  Enrolled in the Software Carpentry class that covered Unix commands, Python coding, and short SQLite integration with Python. (H. Gosden)

 Ball Aerospace Visit and Tour:  D. Hillger visited Ball Aerospace in Boulder CO on 20 April 2015 as part of a group tour arranged by Stan Kidder in conjunction with Tom Vonder Haar’s Satellite Meteorology class at Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science.  These tours are a regular feature of the ATS737 class offered every other year.  The group was able to see several aspects of the manufacture and assembly of space satellites, including viewing of the JPSS-1 satellite in the final stages of its assembly and testing.  (D. Hillger)

Figure: Group that toured Ball Aerospace in Boulder CO on 20 April 2015, in conjunction with Tom Vonder Haar’s ATS 737 Satellite Meteorology class.  D. Hillger at right, T. Vonder Haar second from right back row, and S. Kidder third from left; the remainder are ATS737 students.  Sorry, no pictures of JPSS-1 were allowed.

EEO/Diversity Video Viewing: The entire federal contingent at NESDIS/StAR/CoRP/RAMMB viewed the ABC News 20/20 production “Race & Sex: What We Think But Don’t Say” as our second EEO/Diversity requirement for FY15.  The video was provided by the NESDIS EEO/Diversity Office.  (D. Hillger, D. Molenar, D. Lindsey, J. Knaff)

Safety for Supervisors Training:  D. Hillger completed a required NOAA Learning Center online course “Safety Training for Supervisors” on 8 May 2015.  (D. Hillger)

Interviews for the US Metric Association:  D. Hillger, as newly-elected President of the US Metric Association (USMA) was busy on 4 June 2015, after the metric system was announced as an item in platform of US presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee.  Most of the telephone and email interviews asked about the status and future of the US switch to the metric system (process of metrication) that started in the 1970s and continues today.  The inquiries totaled 6 telephone interviews and one email interview, from the following media outlets: CNBC, NBC News, ABC News, Politico, PBS Marketplace, the Washington Times, and CBS Radio.  The USMA Vice President, at another location, was also interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and CNN.  The USMA website is www.metric.org.  Some of the interviews also inquired of my profession as a NOAA meteorologist and how I became interested in the metric cause (back in the 1980s).  (D. Hillger)

After School Weather Club: Scientists at CIRA volunteered for the weekly after-school weather club on Tuesdays for Putnam Elementary (K-5).  This spring session ran from 10 March through 12 May 2015.  There is a 90-minute session each week.  Sessions included helping with homework and leading a weather related activity.  The topics covered included measuring temperature and wind speed, making a cloud and a tornado in a bottle, making rainbows, exploring the rotation of the earth, and viewing GOES imagery through RAMSDIS online (the kids did a great job identifying snow and showing their geography knowledge).  Volunteers included Bernie Connell, Kristi Gebhart, and Erin Dagg.  Putnam Elementary has a coordinator who is responsible for matching students with clubs, assigning classrooms, providing snacks, and providing transportation – which is great! (B. Connell)

Elementary School Volunteering:  D. Lindsey volunteered at Dunn Elementary School on 8 May 2015.  The fourth graders were studying energy, and I was in charge of the station explaining and illustrating chemical energy.  It was a very rewarding experience, and I was very impressed by some of the kids’ scientific knowledge and “instincts.”  (D. Lindsey)