A High-Impact Weather Identification and Visualization Product for the Operational and Client Service Meteorologists in Canada

A high-impact weather identification and visualization product has been developed to support the Storm Prediction Centre Operations and Client Services of the Meteorological Service of Canada. Using data from the main Canadian operational models, the product identifies multiple weather hazards (or multiple high-impact weather types) to provide forecasters with early awareness of the potential need for public and highway warnings. Currently, these high-impact weather types include rainfall, snowfall, freezing rain, wind, heat, extreme cold, arctic outflow and outflow wind. Other high-impact weather types will be added in the future. The product has been tested extensively by using many cases of severe storms over the Province of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory of Canada. Results show that it has the ability to identify most potential high-impact weather for public and highway forecasts. By providing automated high-impact weather identification and visualization, the product increases the efficiency and accuracy of high-impact weather forecasts issued by operational and service meteorologists. Expansion of the product to cover other regions of Canada is in progress.