Kai Wong

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Learning to say “Good Enough” is a design skill, not a compromise.

You don’t need a “leader” title to build psychological safety at work.

Enhanced measurements of vertically resolved meteorological parameters are required to improve nowcasting of high-impact weather (HIW) and to evaluate and enhance the performance of numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems. This is particularly true in urban areas where there exists a lack of upper-air observations. To address this need, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) established the Southern Ontario Lidar (SOLID) mesoscale network (Mesonet) in and around Toronto. Eight Doppler lidars and one water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL) provide near-real-time observations of aerosol backscatter, cloud and planetary boundary layer (PBL) height, and vertical wind and water vapor profiles to aviation and operational weather forecasters. Combined with the neighboring New York State Mesonet, the two Mesonets provide some of the only upper-air observations in this urban area inhabited by more than 26 million people. As part of an ongoing impact analysis, this project will assess the potential of these profiling instruments to improve nowcasting operations and data assimilation efforts. Three case studies demonstrate the applications of the Mesonet's observations, particularly for aviation nowcasting and HIW events, including passing cold fronts that result in sudden and extreme wind shifts (∼180° within 10 min) and the Delta flight 4819 plane crash investigation at Toronto's international airport. Such real-time profiling of upper-air winds and water vapor are shown to aid forecasters and improve their ability to make storm-track adjustments with confidence, provide near-real-time analysis for automated nowcasting systems, and enable in-depth verification of NWP forecasts.

The Greeks knew the answer to this problem, 2300 years ago