Weather Monitoring
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Continued Success for Seasonal North Atlantic Tropical Storm Forecast
The Met Office (UK) accurately predicted the above-average North Atlantic tropical storm season again this year, maintaining the excellent record of its forecast since it was introduced in 2007.
The 2010 North Atlantic hurricane season was one of the most active seasons on record with a total of 19 tropical storms. The Met Office public seasonal forecast, issued in June, predicted that there would most likely be 20 tropical storms (with a range 13–27) during July to November 2010 — the number of North Atlantic tropical storms in an average year is about 12.
For the accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index — which summarises the combined strength and duration of storms within the season — the most likely predicted value was 204, with a range 90–319. The average value is about 130. The observed ACE index between July and November 2010 was 170.
Forecasts for commercial customers were also issued from April 2010 and consistently forecast an active season.
Joanne Camp, climate scientist at the Met Office, said: “The performance of the forecast over the last three years has been particularly good, with our forecast successfully predicting the above average seasons in 2008 and 2010 interspersed by the below average season in 2009.”
The Met Office seasonal tropical storm forecast is created using dynamical numerical models from the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). These simulate important interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which has a strong influence on Atlantic tropical storm development.
Despite the active tropical storm season in the Atlantic, unusually there were no hurricane strikes on the USA in 2010. Joanne Camp continued: “It remains a long term research goal of the Met Office to develop a seasonal tropical storm forecast which can deliver more detailed information on the local variability of storm activity within the Atlantic region.”
Reader Reply Card No. 60 SPA Snow Pack Analysing System Product Features
Meteorological Company Wins WMO Radiosonde Intercomparison
Vaisala (Finland) Radiosonde RS92 was proven to be the world’s top radiosonde as it was placed number one in the 8th World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Intercomparison of Radiosonde Systems. The WMO recently published their final report on the measurement results on their website.
The results show that Vaisala’s sounding system is the world’s best-performing combination for upper-air in-situ observations, and provides the highest accuracy of data for a wide range of meteorological applications, such as numerical weather prediction models, climatology, and synoptic meteorology. The Vaisala Radiosonde RS92-SGP - operated together with the Vaisala DigiCORA®
and even exceeding international observation network requirements.
The RS92-SGP performed very well in both temperature and humidity measurements, being highly consistent and maintaining its level of performance also in demanding conditions. For an example, the RS92 was the only radiosonde in the Intercomparison that incorporates working protection against evaporative cooling, an effect that can distort the temperature measurement due to accumulated water evaporating and cooling the sensor.
The WMO Intercomparison is organised every 4-5 years. It is a continuous four-week sounding campaign, designed to be an objective venue for assessing the qualities and performance of different radiosonde systems. The 8th Intercomparison was held last July in Yangjiang, China. Eleven radiosonde manufacturers participated, making it the largest measurement campaign in the history of modern radiosonde intercomparisons.
Reader Reply Card No. 62
Registration of the snow parameters: Snow depth Snow density
Snow water equivalent Contents of liquid water and ice
System assembly on demand
No measurement errors caused by ice layers in the snow cover
Simple and convenient installation even at hillsides
Sounding System MW31 - achieved nearly perfect scores in all the measurement parameters, meeting
Automatic, continuous measurement Energy- saving sensor operation
Tel: +43 5523 55989–0 • Fax: +43 5523 55989–19 •Website:
www.sommer.at SOMMER GmbH & Co KG, Straßenhäuser 27, A-6842 Koblach
Checking Climatic Parameters by Hand
The HygroPalm22 from Rotronic (Switzerland) is regarded as the ideal hand- held measuring unit for checking climatic parameters. Its usable ranges are 0...100 %rh / -10..60 °C, and all psychrometric calculations are possible. The probe can be changed in seconds, and a mini-USB interface allows connection to a PC.
The case contains all the accessories needed for users to calibrate their measuring unit themselves, quickly, simply and independent of location.
The contents comprise: 1 HygroPalm22, 1 calibration device, 1 extension, 1 calibration solution and 1 climatic probe. The set is suitable for a wide range of applications in the print and paper sector, research, meteorology, agriculture and climatology.
Reader Reply Card No. 59
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Reader Reply Card No. 61
Barometric Pressure Sensor is Accurate and Low Cost
The Model 61302 Barometric Pressure Sensor from R. M. Young Company (USA) provides remarkable accuracy of ± 0.3 hPa over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. 0-5 VDC and 4-20 mA current output versions
are available. Serial output is standard with either option. High accuracy, wide range and low power make this sensor ideal for a broad range of applications.
Reader Reply Card No. 63 Reader Reply Card No. 64
IET May / June 2011
www.envirotech-online.com
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