Table 3. Verification of the NGM forecast first guess and the GOES-8 three layer moisture retrievals for April 1996 to February 1997. Only 00 UTC retrievals are included. The bias and root-mean-square (RMS) scatter about the bias are compared to radiosondes (in mm). The collocation distance within 0.25 degrees. Sigma is the ratio of the pressure over the surface pressure. Sample size is 1488. 


                             Guess          Retrieval 
                           __________      ___________ 
                           Bias   RMS       Bias   RMS
______________________________________________________ 


Total Water Vapor          -0.3   3.3       -0.1   2.6


WV1 (Surface to .9 sigma)  -0.9   1.6       -0.7   1.5


WV2 (0.9 to 0.7 sigma)      0.2   2.1        0.3   1.7


WV3 (0.7 to 0.3 sigma)      0.3   1.4        0.3   1.1


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