Mini-Mesoscale Predictability Experiment (mini-MPEX)
Field Scientist (2016)
My Role
- Operated a mobile profiling platform (NOAA-NSSL CLAMPS2) and released radiosondes to observe near- and far-field environments near severe supercell thunderstorms.
Mini-MPEX
“Mini-MPEX” continued some of the goals of the MPEX project (2013) to explore real-time targeting of pre- and near-storm observations to improve numerical model forecasts of thunderstorms. NSSL’s CLAMPS atmospheric profiling system was used in the field in 2016–17, deploying 28 times on 20 days over the two years. The data from CLAMPS was used to examine the impact of assimilating these observations into model initial conditions on forecasts of thunderstorms, with the long-term goal of informing NOAA on ways to improve the NOAA upper-air observing network. In 2019, CLAMPS deployed again to support mini-MPEX goals and the Warn on Forecast project by providing observations to verify the WoFS realtime forecast experiment, and to provide contextual observations for the near- and under-storm observations obtained by the RiVorS project.