LATEST SEABREEZE NOWCAST PLOT -- UPDATED 09/20/2005 20:20 UTC
INTERPRETATION
This diagram shows the seabreeze nowcasts for the current hour and the previous eleven hours. Each hour's nowcast is identified by UTC-hour (local standard time plus 5 hours, or daylight saving time plus 4 hours).
The nowcast compares the synoptic-scale cross-shore geostrophic wind component to the cross-shore potential temperature gradient. If the plot is to the left of line B (and the other conditions noted above are met), a seabreeze will occur along the central New England coast. If the plot is to the right of line A, a seabreeze will not occur. If the plot is between lines A and B, a seabreeze is possible, but dependent on the synoptic class. Seabreezes do not occur if the cross-shore geostrophic wind component is greater than 12 m/s.
Conditions for use: For valid results, the synoptically-driven wind direction must not be southeasterly, there must be sufficient insolation in the coastal zone to set up a cross-shore density discontinuity (low and mid cloud must cover less than 51 percent of the sky), and there must not be any synoptic-scale fronts in New England. (See Miller and Keim, 2003 for a more detailed explanation.)
This product should be used for research purposes only. No guarantee is made about its accuracy for any given location on the central New England coast.
Reference: Miller, S.T.K., and B.D. Keim, Weather and Forecasting, 18, 236 - 248, 2003.
This page was last updated on 09/20/2005 20:20 UTC.
