Observations for comparison to
RAMS results during Supercomputing'98
Results from RAMS on the previous page showed
the dissipation of Hurricane Mitch on November 5 after it passed through
the Florida peninsula, the formation of a front moving across the Florida
panhandle on November 11. For comparison purposes, look at satellite
observations from GOES-8 for this period. First, in the infrared
at 5 AM EDT and then in more detail at 10 AM.
The more detailed view below can be examined as a sequence,
in particular for comparison with the results of various RAMS runs during
Supercomputing'98.
Here's another infrared image from GOES-8 showing the front moving across
northwestern Florida that was predicted by RAMS. This can be more
easily seen via an animation sequence.
For comparison with the following example from RAMS, especially the
animation, consider the next image.
It is in the visible from GOES-8 at 9:45 AM. Qualitatively, the
correspondence between the observations and the predictions is quite good.
For additional comparison, surface conditions for the entire United
States are shown below for 5 AM EST on November 11. Temperature,
wind velocity, radar results and pressure are depicted. An animation
of these data for the entire period is also available. Again, signature
of the front predicted by RAMS in northwestern Florida are visible. Some
of features visible in the RAMS predictions described earlier are apparent.
A presentation of just radar observations is shown below at 11 pm the
night before.
Finally, consider a map of total precipitation, derived from a number
of sensors throughout the United States. The comparison with the
results from RAMS are a bit difficult to do directly because these are
24 hour accumulations, while the total precipitation from RAMS is from
the start of the model. Qualitatively, they correspond fairly well
with these observations, which can be seen in animation,
which covers the period during the dissipation of Hurricane Mitch through
the entire Supercomputing'98 conference exhibition. The image below
shows show rainfall accumulation from 5 AM on November 5 through 5 AM on
November 6.
lloydt@watson.ibm.com
