Displaying NUCAPS data from CLASS
NUCAPS data have been flowing into AWIPS 2 for months; in the recent past, these data started flowing into the NOAA CLASS data archive as well (click here for a tutorial on accessing the data). How can the NOAA CLASS output be displayed? This post will compare McIDAS-V plots to the data displayed using AWIPS-1, below.
GOES Sounder Total Column Ozone DPI Values Plotted with NAM 500-mb heights and NAM Pressure on the 1.5 PVU surface (click to enlarge)
Suomi NPP overflew the central United States at about 0850 UTC on 12 November, and ozone concentrations from the NUCAPS soundings at three different levels (~500, 300 and ~200 mb) are shown below. Note that the color scaling is not quite the same in the three plots as the range for each pressure level is different. Maxima in Ozone at all levels occur in the same region — the Dakotas — as indicated by the GOES Sounder Total Column Ozone DPI, above. NUCAPS soundings also show data in cloudy regions because microwave data from ATMS is used in the NUCAPS processing. Note that values at the edge of the color shading have been extrapolated outwards; values in western Nevada and Indiana, for example, are not from direct NUCAPS observations. This plot of 500-mb temperatures (that includes the actual values) shows the horizontal extent of data and the amount of interpolation at the edge.
Contours of Ozone Mixing Ratio (parts per billion) from NUCAPS Soundings at ~0848 UTC on 12 November 2014 (click to enlarge)