Visibility Observations and Their Parameterization for Weather Forecasting

Ismail Gultepe
Environment Canada

Abstract:

In this talk, the instruments used in collection of visibility (Vis) and precipitation measurements during Fog And Remote Sensing (FRAM) projects will be summarized and their observations will be discussed for forecasting applications. The Vis parameterizations due to fog, RH, rain, and snow will be the main focus of this presentation, and an integrated parameterization for visibility will be suggested for nowcasting applications. Results will represent the marine, Arctic, mountain, and continental environmental conditions. Visibility and precipitation measurements together with Canadian models' simulation results gathered during Canadian Winter Olympics of 2010 from SNOW-V10 project will be used for visibility forecasting over the mountainous regions. Future field projects such as FRAM-ICE, with focusing on ice fog in the Arctic and Vis representation in the forecasting models will also be summarized. Overall, the results related to Vis parameterizations and Vis/precipitation observations representing various meteorological conditions will be given.