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HPWREN News

August 25, 2006

HPWREN Collaborates with NOAA's National Weather Service in Obtaining Valuable Real-time Data

For some time the National Weather Service (NWS), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has used HPWREN real-time camera network and meteorological stations to be more aware of the current weather conditions. HPWREN equipment has been especially useful in remote locations where knowledge of the weather conditions has always been lacking. It is the federal duty of the NWS to issue warnings to reduce or eliminate the loss of life and property of residents and visitors from the adverse impacts of weather. Forecasters at the NWS immediately recognize the value of seeing clouds, thunderstorms, and fog develop and dissipate, as well as local ground impacts, such as snowfall and flooding streams, by using the cameras and meteorological stations.

Lyons West
Lyons West
Lyons West
Early morning fog and its dissipation is visible in these September 28, 2004 images taken by a west-pointing camera on Lyons Peak. The left 6:00AM photo shows the moon-lit fog, with the moon setting in the middle image around 6:36AM. By the 8:36AM time of the right image the fog already has significantly dispersed.

In the summer of 2006, data from some of these meteorological stations began to be transmitted directly to NWS workstations, increasing the utility of these data by NWS forecasters. In addition, these data became included in a larger network of surface observations used widely by the entire meteorology community in the western U.S. These data are collected and organized in a way that is very useful, not only to forecasters monitoring the weather, but to external users via the Internet.

SMER river
SMER river
SMER river

This December 28, 2004 series of images from a San Diego State University's Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve camera show quick river water rising as it happens as a result of rain during flash flood incidents. The left image from 10:25AM shows the river in approximately its usual state, easy to cross on foot or in a car. About four minutes later at 10:29AM (middle image) the river already is basically not passable, be it on foot or by car. The right image shows further significant water level increases less than two hours later by 12:15PM. At that time river crossing attempts clearly would have a high likelihood of being fatal.


Numerous microclimates in a varied landscape are influenced by topography, proximity to the ocean, latitude and elevation. And nowhere is this more apparent than in Southern California. With greater instrumentation throughout the region, forecasters can ascertain and verify the exact weather conditions much more thoroughly in such a geographically diverse region. As a result, more accurate forecasts and warnings can be issued.

Fire related
Fire related
Fire related
An important National Weather Services emphasis in southern California is weather prediction and situation reporting in support of firefighting activities for such wildfire-prone areas. While these images were not taken via network cameras, various HPWREN-accessible cameras have played significant roles to situation-awareness during fire incidents for multiple agencies. Recently added dynamic time-lapse animations at http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/cameras, instigated by suggestions from National Weather Services staff, improve such abilities even further.

With archive and animation capabilities provided by HPWREN, the NWS can conduct research on particular weather phenomena, such as severe thunderstorms, cloud formation and dissipation, heavy rain events and flooding, wildfires, and wind patterns. Researchers can study a particular event after the fact. With greater knowledge and understanding of these phenomena, forecasters can receive training that will enable greater accuracy and utility of future forecasts and warnings.

Winter Laguna
Winter Laguna
Winter Laguna
Mt. Laguna is experiencing snow and ice on this March 13, 2006 winter morning. The left 5:58AM image shows the snow bathed in the colorful light of the rising sun, with ice still obstructing the view of the camera. The 7:34AM image in the middle shows a less obstructed view, and by the time of the right 5:25PM image, ice is seen crashing off the tower the camera is on, and onto the rim of a microwave antenna.

HPWREN has literally opened up a new vision of weather monitoring for NWS forecasters in San Diego. The cameras and additional meteorological stations have vastly improved the observational capability of the NWS in this region.

Miguel Miller
Forecaster
National Weather Service San Diego


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