Category: Technical notes

INSTRUMENT STATUS: All good.

WEATHER INFO: A weak frontal system is approaching Portugal. Today, cumulus clouds are expected with a low probability of shower. Tmax ~33C. Winds are expected to be from the W/NW. A thermal inversion is expected overnight with a very small chance of mist. Tomorrow, clouds are expected in the morning and afternoon. W/SW winds will be present in the morning for a couple hours.

PREVIOUS DAY OPS: Tried to hook up the other temperature sensor to the A/C unit. Need to attach the unit to the network to enable the extra sensor. Not sure if we want to try and do this or not. Also measured the AERI pallets so we can get more lumber. Launched a sonde at 9pm to kick off a supersonde night. We will launch at 3am and 9 am as well to capture the morning transition.

SITE PHOTOS: None

NEXT DAY OPS: Supersondes in the morning.

AUTHOR: Tyler

INSTRUMENT STATUS: All good. Still evaluating temperature of enclosure.

WEATHER INFO: Through continues to move E/SE. Today, the Tmax is expected to be ~31C. Low probability of showers in the afternoon. Tonight, an inversion is expected with N/NW winds and there is a slight chance of some mist/fog. Tomorrow, W/SW winds are possible between 9 and 12 UTC.  The fire risk increases through Friday.

PREVIOUS DAY OPS: Looked at the AERI pallets. Plan to replace the 2x4s on the end with some sturdier lumber and use the un-cut 2×4 in the center for support. We didn’t have exact measurements and couldn’t fit the lumber in the car, so we’ll revisit this problem another day. Other than that, we added some reflective insulation to the back of mini-CLAMPS to try and see if that helps keep temperatures lower inside the enclosure.

SITE PHOTOS:

NEXT DAY OPS: Measure the pallets to have the lumber cut to the correct length at the hardware store. Install the auxiliary temperature sensor to the A/C unit to see if the temperature really are as high as the unit says. Continue to evaluate the new scan strategy. Depending on the number of sondes left, there may be an opportunity for a Supersonde IOP .

AUTHOR: Tyler

INSTRUMENT STATUS: Changed the scan strategy on the lidar. We added a 12 point 45deg PPI scan to get higher resolution VADs at the lower levels. Additionally we reduced the number of points on the 70 deg scan to 12. So the scan  strategy now looks like:
1. 12 pt 70deg PPI
2. RHI
3. RHI
4. 12 pt 45deg scan
5. Vertical Stare
Additionally we discovered the lidar computer time was about a 1.5 min slower than true UTC, so we made sure to start the scans on the top of the hour based on the correct time. Times on lidar files may show times slightly before the 0, 15, 30, 45 minute marks every hour now.

WEATHER INFO: Currently downwind of an upper level ridge. Winds will be light from W/NW.  Today’s max expected to be 27-30 C. Low chance of showers today and tomorrow. Surface inversion is expected overnight and there is a slight chance of fog/mist. Models aren’t in good agreement on winds tomorrow. May be some SW flow in the early afternoon. Tmax should be 30-34 C. Fire risk increases through Thursday.

PREVIOUS DAY OPS: Rotation day. Liz departed and Petra arrived.

SITE PHOTOS: None

NEXT DAY OPS: We’re going to take a look at repairing the AERI pallets. Need to measure and gather lumber.

AUTHOR: Tyler

INSTRUMENT STATUS: All good.

WEATHER INFO: Today there will be westerly flow. Stratus and cu possible. Possibility exists for shower scattered through the day. Winds will shift from W to NW during the night. Possible fog/mist overnight with weakening winds. Tomorrow the ridge intensifies. Expected Cu during the afternoon at W/NW winds in the afternoon. No precip expected until June2.

PREVIOUS DAY OPS: CU attempted TLS flights list night, but couldn’t get to the wake due to rain.

SITE PHOTOS: None

NEXT DAY OPS: Will be evaluating all the different scan strategies on the lidar to see if they can be better optimized for the valley. Will also be checking to see if the attempted fix/modification to the A/C unit is working.

AUTHOR: Tyler

INSTRUMENT STATUS: All good.

WEATHER INFO: Today there were low level cumulus and some cirrus through the day. An occluded front approaching the area is expected to dissipate through the day. SW winds will increase through the day before becoming light and variable later tonight. No sfc inversion is expected tonight. Tomorrow, the area will be under an upper level trough with light showers possible with a high around 24 C. The upcoming week is expected to be warmer with lower precip chances.

PREVIOUS DAY OPS: Finished up the supersonde. ND didn’t launch and sondes. CU flew 6-10pm at around 300-400m. ARL flew 6-930pm (had issues with recirculation and broken hot wire).

SITE PHOTOS: None

NEXT DAY OPS: Rotation day. Discussion about a possible extension at the daily meeting.

AUTHOR: Tyler

INSTRUMENT STATUS: Instruments all working as they should. Supersonde is in progress.

WEATHER INFO: Today was warm with partly cloudy skies. This evening is calm. SW winds are expected to occur overnight and early tomorrow before they shift to westerly. There is a slight chance fog/mist may occur late tonight into tomorrow morning .The max temperature tomorrow will be around 21 degC and there is a possibility of light showers, but no thunder storms are expected. Light winds are expected Monday and temperatures should increase through the week.

PREVIOUS DAY OPS:  Started a Supersonde at 3pm. If conditions deteriorate over night, the early morning launches may be scrubbed to conserve sondes for better cases.

SITE PHOTOS: None.

NEXT DAY OPS: ARL and CU are flying the TRLs in support of the Supersonde. ND may launch soundings to support the Supersonde, but that has yet to be decided.

AUTHOR: Tyler

INSTRUMENT STATUS: Instruments all working as they should. Today we pulled the raw lidar files, checked the AC performance (hard to tell as the air was cool in the valley today), and trim a tree limb thought to be blocking the lidar’s along valley RHI scan.

WEATHER INFO: Today was warm with clear skies. The evening was windy. Tomorrow is forecast to have SW winds in the day with a low chance of precip. The forecast shows clouds and precip chancing in the morning Sunday, but we want to pursue a supersonde IOP at this time. A depression approaches on Sunday bringing showers to the area. Next week looks to be dominated by NE flow, a warming trend, and has some small precip chances. 

PREVIOUS DAY OPS:  ND launched sondes in SW flow this morning (5:15am, 8:15am, 11:15am – unsure if these times are correct).

SITE PHOTOS: Took one. Need to upload later.

NEXT DAY OPS: We are currently planning a supersonde IOP. CU and ARL will likely fly their TLS.

AUTHOR: Liz

INSTRUMENT STATUS: Josh left, and Tyler arrived today. Instruments all working as they should. Today we removed the stuffing from the vent outlet for the AC hoping that allows for air flow through the unit. 

WEATHER INFO: Today was hot and mostly clear skies. Convection developed north and moved north so no direct impacts to our area. Today flow was NW to Westerly. Tomorrow’s weather is similar to today’s. Saturday is forecast to have SW winds in the day with a low chance of precip. The winds are currently predicted to weaken and turn through the night, but we are still eyeing this as a potential Supersonde IOP case. A depression approaches on Sunday bringing showers to the area. Next week looks to be dominated by NE flow, a warming trend, and has some small precip chances. 

PREVIOUS DAY OPS:  No special ops. Last night’s convection took down several sites network/power, but most have been restored. Many lidars are reported to be overheating also.

SITE PHOTOS: None today.

NEXT DAY OPS: We plan to pull the raw lidar files tomorrow. We will also evaluate the AC performance, trim a tree limb thought to be blocking the lidar scans, and evaluate the lidar scan patterns.

AUTHOR: Liz

INSTRUMENT STATUS: Instruments all working as they should

WEATHER INFO: Today was warm with cumulus clouds. Convective storms developed around sunset in the vicinity.  Tomorrow a trough begins impacting Portugal bringing more shower and Tstorm chances. SW winds predicted starting Friday. An Atlantic air mass wave comes into the area Sunday. 

PREVIOUS DAY OPS:  No special ops. Some instrument outages reported in the ops plan of the day, but nothing major.

SITE PHOTOS: None today.

NEXT DAY OPS: Normal ops.

AUTHOR: Liz

INSTRUMENT STATUS: Instruments all working as they should! Quick VAD scan of Lidar was changed from 70 to 45 degrees as of 6pm LT.

WEATHER INFO: Today was hot and mostly clear.  Tomorrow: variable and calm winds until 17:00, then variable and gusty. A lot of variation in the wind, related to convection is forecast. Dust plume is coming in from South-East. Will probably hit us at noon. Possible thunderstorms tomorrow , bet less likely than the following days. High fire risk. Convection possible Wed-Fri. 

PREVIOUS DAY OPS:  CU-B and ARL flew in support of the supersonde.

SITE PHOTOS: None today.

NEXT DAY OPS: Normal ops.

AUTHOR: Liz