WMOD00259

• Applicant: Western Kansas Groundwater Management
• Project Name: Western Kansas Weather Modification Program
• Date: 1/1/1999
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

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Radio and TV weather programs are two more sources of useful weather information.
Occasionally, background TV monitoring in both of the WKWMP field offices provides access to
other weather updates, advisories, alerts and occasional real-time Doppler radar displays during
active severe storm periods. The network affiliates station meteorologists covering this area
exhibit a high degree of professionalism, providing the public with timely severe weather
information and their own professional perspectives.

Off-season changes in Internet data collection changes and program revisions that were
upgraded between seasons were monitored by one of our meteorological assistants, Sam Gardner.
This gave us the ability to begin season at peak readiness on the Internet, DUATS and other
programs used. During the off-season we also continued to maintain our Internet home page
which was begun in 1997. In the past off-season our site was maintained by another assistant,
Scott Heeke. Although Scott did not return to the WKWMP in 1999, he still maintained an active
role in working with the web site much of the year. During the season a variety of general
information was made accessible to the public via the Internet, among them both the Lakin and
Colby radar displays of the operational days. This allowed regional residents, especially in rural
areas, to track storm movements which might ultimately affect them. The loops were updated
every few minutes as operations permitted. Radar data obtained by each WKWMP site also
provided valuable information to the other site meteorologist. Storm sequences were usually kept
on the web site for 2 - 3 days, or longer.

Internet and electronic-mail (e-mail) addresses for both radar sites are:

Lakin Internet: http://users.pld.comlhailman Lakin E-mail: [e-mail]

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Colby Internet: http://colby.ixks.com/-wkwmp/ Colby E-mail: [e-mail]

We continue using upgraded versions ofa niwinsonde analysis program called RAOB,
developed by Environmental Research Services. This program allows us to analyze upper air data
in a variety of ways. Details shown by the RAOB program are such that, when printed, it very
closely replicates a miniature Log-P, Skew-T diagram, a primary analysis tool used often in daily
operations by meteorologists. The program is capable of projecting several other rawinsonde sites
onto the same chart so comparisons among surrounding locations at can be examined.

Rawinsondes are balloon-borne weather-measuring instruments launched twice daily, at 7
a.m. and again at 7 p.m. They contain sensors measuring atmospheric pressure, temperature and
humidity changes and transmit those data via radio signals to a ground tracking station. Wind
speed and direction with height are also determined. On the WKWMP rawinsonde data from
National Weather Service sites at Dodge City and North Platte, NE are used most often to
determine what's likely to be "representative" of the atmosphere for the WKWMP. For the
northern target area the North Platte, sounding is often more representative of that area, whereas,
Dodge City closely approximates what is found in Western and Southwestern Kansas. These data
are nearly indispensable in making good short-term forecasts of 12 hours, or less.

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