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By Jonathan Gere (34)
NOAA/ Air Resources Laboratory – Boundary Layer Forecast
This is a lot harder to explain, then to do. You won't need these instructions once you get one cycle under your belt.
Screen 1 - you have to select the center of your forecast area … you can use airport code, lat/lon, or select a major city from the dropdown. I chose Philadelphia for this example. Hit CONTINUE …
Screen 2 – Go to INTERACTIVE MAP (7th. row down) and select the forecast model you want to use to generate your boundary layer forecast … Select RAPID UPDATE CYCLE (RUC 20 km over US) from the dropdown … the application seems to move to the next screen automatically. (You apparently don't have to hit the GO button.)
Screen 3:
a. Choose the forecast date time from the dropdown
b. Select No Overlay
c. Select Mixed Layer Height (SFC) from the Meteorological Fields in Row 1
d. Select SFC from the Level in Row 1
e. Select Color Filled from the Contour/Type in Row 1
f. Select Interval … the distance between the displayed layers in meters. (150m ~ 500 feet ... 300m ~ 1000 feet. ) 300m is a good place to start as you can immediately see how deep the BL is in 1000s of feet. If you need to 'fine-tune' use 150m ... = 500'.
g. Leave Line 2 as it defaults by the application
h. Select Graphic size in pixels … i.e. how big you want the display on your monitor.
i. Leave the Map Domain Defaults … adjust Radius after your first view. 3 works pretty well.
j. Enter the displayed access code … and hit Get Map.
You can just page back and forth ... and change the parms on the prior pages to change size or contour spacing.
