Gridded LAMP Ceiling Height and Visibility Guidance for Alaska

The Localized Aviation MOS Program (LAMP) has publicly disseminated ceiling height and visibility forecast guidance for Alaska through text bulletins since 2006, but not in a gridded form like was done for the contiguous United States (CONUS). Gridded LAMP CONUS guidance is disseminated publicly and is available at National Weather Service forecast offices for use in aviation weather forecasting. Gridded LAMP is also incorporated into the National Blend of Models. The gridded form of ceiling height and visibility observations and forecasts assist the aviation community with tactical decision making and strategic planning. Alaska is especially reliant on aviation and is in need of skillful weather guidance to aid forecasters in providing services for large areas with complex terrain.

The Meteorological Development Lab has been working to transition the LAMP gridding techniques applied in the CONUS to Alaska. The work has involved adopting the LAMP/HRRR Meld CONUS techniques to blend information from the Global Forecast System based MOS (GFS-MOS), recent station observations, and the High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model forecasts. This work adds value over current services by both improving skill of station LAMP ceiling height and visibility guidance while also making the guidance in a gridded form. Numerous adaptations were made to the gridded analysis of point data and the inclusion of gridded data into the overall gridded product. These adaptations included using Rapid Refresh (RAP) model data instead of HRRR model data and additional emphasis on the RAP model information over station-oriented data like observations or GFS-MOS in regions where there are few or no stations. This presentation will highlight the adaptations made in transitioning the LAMP CONUS ceiling height and visibility techniques to Alaska.

This material is based upon work supported by the Joint Technology Transfer Initiative (JTTI) Program within NOAA/OAR Office of Weather and Air Quality.