| PACJET focuses on landfalling winter storms in western U.S. | ||
Emphasis has been growing on improved understanding and forecasting of flash floods, windstorms and heavy snows that result from the interaction of frontal systems with steep terrain. NSSL has been involved in previous orographic precipitation studies including the COAST, MAP, and IPEX field programs. This past winter, NSSL participated in the Pacific Landfalling Jets Experiment (PACJET), conducted along and offshore of the U.S.'s extensive Pacific coastline from far southern California to Washington state. PACJET's mission is to improve short-term forecasts and warnings of floods, damaging winds and other severe weather spawned by storms originating over the data-sparse Pacific Ocean. The experiment was based out of Monterey, CA, and conducted from 20 January to 4 March 2001. PACJET was supported by NSSL's involvement in 17 eight to ten hour missions by the NOAA P-3 aircraft. These P-3 flights covered a domain stretching from the steeply rising coastal mountains to 1000 km or more offshore, allowing interception and surveillance of landfalling storms well in advance of their detection by the coastal WSR-88D network. A particularly innovative aspect of PACJET was the transmission of P-3 observations including flight-level data, dropsounding profiles and radar imagery to NWS forecasters across the Western Region in near real-time via a satellite-relay communications system. On select occasions, multiple dropsonde profiles obtained along the P-3's track were transmitted for assimilation into NCEP's operational models. During PACJET, NSSL's Brad Smull, based at the University of Washington
in Seattle, and Dave Jorgensen, chief of NSSL's Boulder division, served
as airborne mission scientists and Doppler radar operators aboard the
P-3. John Daugherty (NSSL-Boulder) was in charge of field data management
and operations center logistics for PACJET, and was assisted by Bob
Hueftle (NSSL-Boulder) during initial set-up of operations in Monterey.
Those interested in further details on these field activities, including
examples of the real-time radar imagery transmitted to the NWS, may
check the PACJET website at http://www.etl.noaa.gov/programs/pacjet/.
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by
Brad Smull|
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