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Last modified
7/28/2009 2:28:58 PM
Creation date
10/1/2006 2:17:17 PM
Metadata
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Template:
Weather Modification
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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<br />Another service we use routinely to access weather information is the DIRECT USER <br />ACCESS TERMINAL SYSTEM (DUATS). DUATS is a government-funded weather and flight <br />planning service available to all pilots which is accessed via computer tenninal and modem. Other <br />software can process the weather data collected via DUATS among them are forecasts, hourly <br />surface observations, weather warnings, forecast discussions and radar summaries. <br /> <br />Normally, by 10:30 - 10:45 a.m. WKWMP meteorologists have prepared their daily <br />operational weather forecasts and are discuss it thereafter via telephone; also they decide what the <br />seeding strategy will be for the day. When finished with the conference, they each disseminate <br />their forecasts and seeding strategy to the pilots in their assigned areas, normally by telephone or <br />pager between 11:00 and 12:00 a.m., CDT. Operational requirements, administrative work, etc., <br />are arranged either before or after the dissemination of the forecast. The flow chart on the <br />following page, Fig. 4, shows our daily operational schedule. <br /> <br />B. WEATHER SURVEILLANCE - RADAR, SATELLITE, TV AND VISUAL <br /> <br />Watching for sudden, severe weather development and being aware of the general <br />suitability of the likelihood of severe weather is a continuous effort throughout the 24-hour day <br />during the season, irrespective of the daily forecast. Although the media provides us with a means <br />of obtaining local area forecasts, breaking weather warnings and NEXRAD radar displays, TV <br />, <br />was not relied upon as much as is our own local sources of information such as the WKWMP <br />radars, personal observations, NEXRAD radar information via WeatherTap, satellite imagery, <br />wind profiler displays and DTN. . <br /> <br />In order to reduce hail effectively, it is important to be able to identify a severe storm as <br />early in its growth stage as possible and start seeding as quickly as possible. Recognition of <br />non-severe storms as opposed to potentially destructive ones requires a fair degree of expertise. <br />At some point WKWMP pilots and meteorologists acquire an ability to distinguish visually <br />between these two types of clouds and with a high level ofreliability...which is often critical to <br />getting flights launched in a timely fashion. We prefer not to wait for high radar reflectivity in a <br />cloud to be seen on radar before launching aircraft. In rapidly growing clouds, cloud droplet sizes <br />are not large enough to be "seen" on radar until relatively late in the initial development of severe <br />storms. <br /> <br />. Radar becomes an indispensable tool in the identification and tracking of severe storms <br />once they form. The type of radar systems used at both of the WKWMP sites are Enterprise <br />Electronics Corporation (EEe) WR-IOO, 5-cm wavelength models, nearly identical to many <br />weather radars previously used by the National Weather Service which have been replaced by the <br />new, IO-centimeter wavelength NEXRAD Doppler systems. <br /> <br />Using a computer-interfaced radar system allows us to quickly analyze clouds for hail <br />potential. The height of the 45 dBZ intensity contour within a cloud is evaluated against a "hail <br />threshold" based upon the height of the freezing level. The height of the 45 dBZ intensity level <br /> <br />17 <br />
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