Comparison of advanced SoDAR mesonet and NWS airport stations from June 2009 Nor'easter

We report on surface observations from five National Weather Service airport stations in four states during a rare June Nor'easter and compare these results with advanced monostatic SoDAR instruments operating within reasonable correlation distances. Our investigation shows strong correlation between each NWS station and the nearby SoDAR between hourly wind direction readings. We show the overall performance of the SoDAR mesonet in reporting wind direction data and the vertical wind shear profiles across the region during the June Nor'easter and confirmed by a shorter July Nor'easter. The June Nor'easter advanced SoDAR / NWS comparison confirms the directional uniformity of the system and highlights stable wind conditions as shown by the measured shear profiles. We believe these results are the first use of an advanced acoustic wind profiler mesonet during a summer Nor'Easter providing new insight into the boundary layer dynamics of this mesoscale event. Figure 1. June 21, 2009 06:00 UTC Wind Speed (Shear profile) and Direction time series