Last night Grand Rapids got its first snowfall, and this morning I switched the color tables on GR3 and GR2 to winter mode.
Ugh. I suppose that blue, pink, and purple are going to rule for the next four months. I much prefer plenty of yellow, orange, and red, at least when it comes to radar displays, but we’re at that time of year when those colors aren’t likely to be very meaningful, El Nino or no El Nino.
While switching color tables is relevant to me as a Michigan resident who’s bracing for the winter, it’s nothing compared to the changes coming down the pike for GR3 and other level 3 data users in February. Here’s a message that Gilbert Sebenste of Allisonhouse, a well-known private supplier of raw radar data, posted in the AH and Stormtrack forums:
We have just been informed by the National Weather Service that starting in February 2010, and lasting through April, 2010…the National Weather Service will add higher resolution Level3 radar data products, replacing quite a few of the ones you use right now. The legacy products will continue to be sent for 6 months after all of the replacement products have been added, and will be discontinued on December 1, 2010.
What it all means in a nutshell is this:
1. Resolution will increase
2. The number of reflectivity levels will increase to 256 (meaning you will need to have 256 colors in your color palette to display all the intensity levels)
3. The volume of the files will double, on average
4. The Level3 format will change
5. It will be completed by the end of March, 2010…with legacy products ending 12/1/2010.Allisonhouse will be working closely with its software partners to provide a seamless as possible transition to the newer and better products upon receipt of transmission from the National Weather Service, and we will provide you with more information as it becomes available.
Wow. Now those, folks, are changes, and it looks like they’ll be here right in time for storm season 2010. High-res level 3–imagine that! My one issue with level 3 has been its coarseness, but that problem is about to be solved. Within a few short months, level 3 data will be coming to us with the same finely shaded resolution as high-res level 2 while remaining a usable product in the field, which is what GR3 is designed for.
Of course, no chaser is going to love the idea of doubling the file sizes. But the improvements look to be awesome, and will give us much more detailed images of storms.
Other Changes on the Way
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Exciting as the rapidly approaching implementation of high-res level 3 data is, it’s not the only significant development on the horizon. Next year will also see a major phasing-in of dual-pole radar to WSR-88D stations throughout the country. And in the private sector, Andrew Revering of Convective Development, Inc., is working on a huge upgrade for F5 Data forecasting software.
In summary, the technical/informational side of storm chasing will be seeing some significant advancements in the coming year. However many of those improvements are ready for next spring’s severe weather season, let’s just hope that the storms themselves put in a decent appearance.
