Digital atmosphere from weather graphics full#
On the other hand, there’s something to be said for that same Loomis rod in the hands of a pro, and it’s not going to damage a beginner, even if he’s not capable of understanding and harnessing its full potential. Put a $300 Loomis rod in the hands of a novice fisherman and chances are he’ll still come home empty-handed put a cane pole in the hands of a bass master and he’ll return with a stringer full of fish. Knowledge and experience are what make a good storm chaser, and no amount of technology can replace them.
Maybe I can’t always learn directly from the environment, but I can sharpen my skills in other ways.ĭoes having all this stuff make me a better storm chaser? No, of course not.
I guess that’s my rationale for my preoccupation with weather forecasting tools, along with a certain vicarious impulse that wants to at least be involved with the weather three states away even when I can’t chase it. But here in Michigan, I can’t afford to head out after every slight-risk day in Oklahoma. If I lived on the Great Plains, with Tornado Alley as my backyard, I might feel differently. I just never know when I might need the extra informational muscle–when, for instance, knowing the speed of crosswinds might become crucial for pinpointing storm initiation. I just do, okay? I need it for the same reason that an elderly, retired CEO needs a Ferrari in order to drive 55 miles an hour for thirty miles in the passing lane of an interstate highway. Nevertheless, I need to have the rest of that data handy. I use it mostly to measure the dewpoint and temperature.Ĭould I have gotten a different Kestrel model that would give me that same basic information for a third of the cost, minus all the other features that I rarely or never use? Heck yes. It weighs maybe twice as much as a bluebird feather, but it will give me temperature, dewpoint, wind speed, headwinds, crosswinds, wind direction, relative humidity, wet bulb temperature, barometric pressure, heat index, wind chill, altitude, and more, and will record trends of all of the above. It’s a compact little unit that I wear on a lanyard when I’m chasing. And so it goes.Ī couple years ago I spent $300 on a Kestrel 4500 weather meter.
F5 Data, Digital Atmosphere, and all the gazillion free, online weather maps from NOAA, UCAR, COD, TwisterData, and other sources are your topos. You can take the parallels as deep as you want to. Once you’ve bought your first rod and reel and gotten yourself a tackle box, you find that there’s no such thing as having enough lures, widgets, and whizbangs. For me, storm chasing is a lot like fishing. To my surprise, while I draw the line at gaudy externals, I’ve discovered that I lean toward the techie side. It’s all part of the culture of storm chasing, but the bottom line remains getting to the storms. Others are techies whose vehicles are tricked out with mobile weather stations and light bars. Permit the creation of high resolution maps for any location.for any desired scale.Some storm chasers pride themselves in being minimalists who have a knack for intercepting tornadoes without much in the way of gadgetry. Two such programs are "Weather Graphics" and "Digital Atmosphere".both of which Is readily available on the internet from such places as the " Weather Net ".
Digital atmosphere from weather graphics software#
It is possible to depict such information on an hour to hour basis by downloading METAR reports and transferring them to software which It is also possible to construct customized weather maps which can display not only barometric pressure, temperature, relative humidity.but also depict areas of Through your computer modem and terminal program AT NO COST. Many airports have a satellite fed data base which is updated on a continuous basis. Other Weather Sources Many states sponsor automated weather observation and processing systems under contracts with companies such as Kavouras and Pan Am Storm Prediction Center (NOAA) - National SKYWARN Home Page AVIATION HAZARDS RADAR - GOES SATELLITE- SEVERE WEATHER - OBSERVED WX GRAPHICS - VOLCANIC ACTIVITY - TAF / FA FORECAST - HOME HAZARDS NOAA - Aviation Weather Center ProductsĬonvective Outlook - Discussion - 0600 UTC Day 1 - 1300