# Presentation: 602594

## AN EVALUATION OF TAMDAR SOUNDINGS IN SEVERE WEATHER FORECASTING 

-  Ed Szoke1,  Randy Collander1, Brian Jamison1, Tracy Smith1
- Tom Schlatter2, Stan Benjamin, and Bill Moninger,
- NOAA/ESRL Global Systems Division
- 1Joint collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
- 2Joint collaboration with the Cooperative Institute in the Environmental Sciences,
- University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

## Overview

-  Purpose of this talk:
-  Introduce a new source of aircraft measurements that include humidity measurements (TAMDAR)
-  Demonstrate the potential value of these observations for severe storm forecasting
- Three cases will be shown from this summer and fall

## What is TAMDAR?

-  Stands for Tropospheric AMDAR (Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay
-  Humidity instrument developed by a private company, AirDat LLC of Raleigh, NC
-  Data has been taken for over 2 years and evaluated by GSD, AirDat, and the NWS (especially WFO Green Bay)
-  For this period a test fleet of regional airlines has been flying out of some major and many smaller airports across the Midwest south to the lower Mississippi Valley region
-  Experiment known as Great Lakes Fleet Experiment
-  See http://www.crh.noaa.gov/tamdar
-  Data available on GSD website (for now...)
-  _[http://acweb.fsl.noaa.gov/java](http://acweb.fsl.noaa.gov/java)_
-  Also on AWIPS

## Typical TAMDAR coverage...here for 10 UTC 18 Oct 06 – 04 UTC 19 Oct

## Case 1: Ohio Valley severe weather on 14 July 2006

-  Key points:
-  Series of TAMDAR soundings from Detroit (DTX)
-  Comparison of 1800 UTC special DTX RAOB with TAMDAR
-  Severe reports nicely occurred within SPC Outlook
-  But many of the reports occurred before the first Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued at 2015 UTC.
-  Could the TAMDAR soundings in Ohio have helped with issuing an earlier watch?

## Severe Weather on 14 July

## Case 1 - 14 July 06: Potential severe weather in the Ohio Valley ahead of a weak cold front

-                1600 UTC SPC Convective Outlook has much of the area in a slight risk

## TAMDAR coverage in area of interest on 14 July

- DTX (Detroit) is one of the 3 main TAMDAR hubs

## Time series of TAMDARs from DTW (Detroit) with 12z raob

## Comparison of DTW special 18z raob with TAMDAR

## Conditions 1800-1830 UTC: 1900 UTC Convective Outlook about the same

-   Line of cells beginning to develop west of ILN with another line farther southwest

## Conditions at 1900 UTC on 14 July: Detroit at northern edge of developing line

## Conditions at 2100 UTC on 14 July: Several watches now issued but lots of OH 

-      severe weather has already occurred.

## TAMDAR series from DAY (Dayton, OH) with nearby 12z raob

## Parcel for the 1554 UTC Dayton TAMDAR

## Parcel for the 1839 UTC Dayton TAMDAR

## Case 2: Midwest severe weather on 2 August 2006

-  Key points:
-  Series of TAMDAR soundings from Detroit (DTX)
-  Comparison of 1800 UTC special DTX RAOB with TAMDAR
-  Severe reports nicely occurred within SPC Outlook
-  But many of the reports occurred before the first Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued at 2015 UTC.
-  Could the TAMDAR soundings in Ohio have helped with issuing an earlier watch?

## Case 2: 2 Aug 06 Midwest severe weather potential ahead of a cold front. Conditions at 12 z 

##  2 Aug 06 TAMDAR flights and airports of interest

## Some relevant morning TAMDAR soundings

## 2 Aug 06 - 2100 UTC: Not much happening yet

## Set of afternoon PIA (Peoria, IL) TAMDARs with the nearby 00 UTC RAOB

## Set of TAMDARs in IL into nrn IN with the ILX 00 UTC raob

## As seen in this time series of TAMDARs from SBN (South Bend, IN)

## 00 UTC 3 Aug conditions.  The SPC nicely placed a watch farther north...  

## 02 UTC 3 Aug conditions.  ...where the action ended up 

## Case 3: Upper Midwest severe weather on 3 October 06

-  Key points:
-  Series of TAMDAR soundings from Minneapolis (MPX)
-  Comparison of 1800 UTC special MPX RAOB with TAMDAR
-  Severe reports nicely occurred within SPC Outlook
-  But many of the reports occurred before the first Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued at 2015 UTC.
-  Could the TAMDAR soundings in Ohio have helped with issuing an earlier watch?

## 1200 UTC 3 Oct 06 500 mb plot and analysis.  

## 12 UTC 3 Oct conditions: Moderate risk over se MN into WI/IA.  

## 15 UTC 3 Oct conditions.  

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