Toward the Operational Weather Forecasting Application of Atmospheric Stability Products Derived From NUCAPS CrIS/ATMS Soundings

Atmospheric soundings from radiosondes are critical for the weather forecasting, particularly for the diagnostic of atmospheric stability conditions that can lead to thunderstorm development. However, radiosonde observations (RAOBs) are temporally and spatially limited throughout the globe, promoting the use of satellite measurements. This paper assesses the applicability to the operational short-term weather forecasting of atmospheric stability indices and parameters (SIPs) derived from thermodynamic profiles retrieved from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) using the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) radiances. For this purpose, we validated NUCAPS SIPs against SIPs derived from conventional and dedicated/reference RAOBs collocated with NUCAPS retrievals within a maximum radius of 50 km and ±1-h time difference, over midlatitudes (60°N–30°N) and tropics (30°N–30°S). Stability parameters evaluated include total precipitable water (TPW), lifted index, K-index, total-totals index, and Galvez–Davison index. NUCAPS TPW exhibited the highest level of statistical agreement with RAOBs, with the remaining NUCAPS SIPs exhibiting favorable results (linear correlations ranging between 0.65 and 0.85). Case studies over the Texas/Oklahoma region and the Northern Coast of Brazil demonstrate NUCAPS capability of generating reliable fields of atmospheric stability, as well as capturing synoptic-scale convective signatures, not feasible with RAOBs. Considering also the benefit of SNPP NUCAPS hyperspectral-infrared (IR) and microwave soundings available for both regions during critical early afternoon periods, our analysis supports the use of NUCAPS CrIS/ATMS SIPs as complementary nowcasting tools for the analysis of preconvective environments.

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