Assimilation of High-Resolution Mode-S Wind and Temperature Observations in a Regional NWP Model for Nowcasting Applications

Abstract

Abstract In this paper the beneficial impacts of high-resolution (in space and time) wind and temperature observations from aircraft on very short-range numerical weather forecasting are presented. The observations are retrieved using the tracking and ranging radar from the air traffic control facility at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This enhanced surveillance radar tracks all aircraft in sight every 4 s, generating one million wind and temperature observations per day in a radius of 270 km around the radar. Nowcasting applications will benefit from improved three-dimensional wind fields. When these observations are assimilated into a numerical model with an hourly update cycle, the short-range three-dimensional wind field forecasts match the observations better than those from an operational forecast cycle, which is updated every 3 h. The positive impact on wind in the first hours of the forecast gradually turns into a neutral impact, when compared to other wind and temperature observations. The timeliness of the forecasts combined with the high resolution of the observations are the main reasons for the observed nowcasting benefits. All in all, the assimilation of high-resolution wind (and temperature) observations is found to be beneficial for nowcasting and short-range forecasts up to 2–3 h.