Validation and deployment of the first Lidar based weather observation network in New York State: The NYS MesoNet Project

L Thobois,E Joseph,P Royer,J Brotzge,J Freedman,D Nicolae,E Landulfo,A Vassilis,A Behrendt,M.P Mccormick,C Senff,A Comeron,I Veselovskii,D Balis,F Gibert,U Wandinger,A Makoto

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201817609010

Abstract

The number and quality of atmospheric observations used by meteorologists and operational forecasters are increasing year after year, and yet, consistent improvements in forecast skill remains a challenge. While contributing factors involving these challenges have been identified, including the difficulty in accurately establishing initial conditions, improving the observations at regional and local scales is necessary for accurate depiction of the atmospheric boundary layer (below 2km), particularly the wind profile, in high resolution numerical models. Above the uncertainty of weather forecasts, the goal is also to improve the detection of severe and extreme weather events (severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and other mesoscale phenomena) that can adversely affect life, property and commerce, primarily in densely populated urban centers. This paper will describe the New York State Mesonet that is being deployed in the state of New York, USA. It is composed of 126 stations including 17 profiler sites. These sites will acquire continuous upper air observations through the combination of WINDCUBE Lidars and microwave radiometers. These stations will provide temperature, relative humidity & “3D” wind profile measurements through and above the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and will retrieve derived atmospheric quantities such as the PBL height, cloud base, momentum fluxes, and aerosol & cloud optical properties. The different modes and configurations that will be used for the Lidars are discussed. The performances in terms of data availability and wind accuracy and precision are evaluated. Several profiles with specific wind and aerosol features are presented to illustrate the benefits of the use of Coherent Doppler Lidars to monitor accurately the PBL.

Highlights

Despite the constant effort to improve weather forecasts over the last few decades, depiction of the evolution of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) remains a challenge
Coherent Pulsed Doppler Lidar (CDL) have been chosen for the New York State Mesonet (NYSM) to provide one of the most important parameters to be assimilated into numerical weather prediction (NWP) model
The measurements performed by one WINDCUBE100S CDL during two summer days with moderate convection and few clouds and aerosols layers above the boundary layer are presented on Figure 3

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Despite the constant effort to improve weather forecasts over the last few decades, depiction of the evolution of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) remains a challenge. The forecast goal is to provide information regarding weather risk to support local authorities and decision makers. To reach this objective, numerical weather prediction (NWP) models must be coupling increased spatial resolution with improved data assimilation methods. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models must be coupling increased spatial resolution with improved data assimilation methods These models, require more comprehensive local observations (e.g. the 3D wind field) as initial conditions. The capabilities of CDLs used in this network are described in terms of wind and aerosol/cloud measurements. Their potential benefits for future observing networks.

THE NEW YORK STATE MESONET

PROFILER STATIONS WITH CDLs

PRELIMINARY RESULTS