Sounding Problems

[rdale]

Interesting discussion by Bob Maddox on problems with the radiosonde replacement / relocation project ongoing within NWS...

http://www.madweather.com/

 

[Doug Lee]

Wow! Don't like the sound of that at all.

I wonder if this is typical bureaucratic incompetence, or if something else is going on.

I also wonder if this might have something to do with some of the strange things noted by others happening in the forecast models. As computer programmers say, "Garbage In, Garbabage Out."

 

[John Wetter]

Unfortunately those are all 'known' issues...

 

[rdale]

MPX is using the new sounding system, and their 18Z special severe weather sounding had no wind data...

 

[John Wetter]

How convenient, right? Sigh... Yeah, there have been a decent number of other 'issues' with it, especially from having been one of the first ones. One of the issues we thought would be better was the tracking, but that isn't much better, so lots of lost data and bad launches. I'm not sure what the specific problem was today. I've definitely noticed the surface 'spikes' mentioned though.

-John

 

[rdale]

Check the MPX special sounding today - guess that was pretty much waste of a balloon ;>

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/soundings/07081318_OBS/

Notice the hodograph? The only winds were at the surface (east) and then about 150mb (northwest) so the sounding plot software interpolated the rest...

 

[John Wetter]

Nice of Nsharp to finish that up for us, wasn't it? Yeah... Pretty bad. Good thing we fund the profilers and are expanding the network... Oh, wait...

-John

 

[rdale]

Nice of NWS HQ to keep us informed of the "issues" too (or do they call them "bonus features"?) Hard to blame Nsharp -- can't imagine it expected too many soundings that miss 90% of the wind data ;>

 

[Chris Geelhart]

Nice of NWS HQ to keep us informed of the "issues" too (or do they call them "bonus features"?) Hard to blame Nsharp -- can't imagine it expected too many soundings that miss 90% of the wind data ;>

So it can't handle the soundings from the old systems when the wind is missing due to limiting angles?

 

[rdale]

It can handle a level or two of missing winds by interpolating the gaps... This "gap" is the entire sounding, which happens more often than ever with the new system.

 

[Paul Austin]

How about this one from yesterday? No upper plot point exists to interpolate to.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/soundings/07081515_OBS/

I'll just draw my own perfect curve