The animations show one week of wind fields. 3 NCEP wind vectors for Nov. 15, 1996. Horizontal divergence for surface air is calculated at the grid points as a second order finite difference. The divergence field is bi-linearly interpolated to the central position of each moving vector. Divergence are shown by the color of the wind vector.
Red vectors indicate convergent flow, and blue vectors indicate divergent flow.
This coloring scheme helps highlight convergence zones, fronts, and structure within strong cyclones. The relative vorticity field is also calculated as a second order finite difference. The vorticity contours highlight the central position of storms, and help show the extent of flow modifications due to orographic features. The animations are examined to find new and interesting features. NCEP wind vectors for Sept. 29, 1996.