CSTAR - Northeast NWS/ UAlbany

1. CSTAR - Northeast NWS/UAlbany Warren R. Snyder Science & Operations Officer WFO, Albany, New York

2. CSTAR – 10 years of Collaboration • Collaborative Science, Technology, and Applied Research (CSTAR) program • Established by the Office of Meteorology* to bring NWS-supported collaborative activities with the academic community into a structured program. • Now OCWWS* • Program currently under Office of Science & Technology • Create a cost-effective transition from basic and applied research to operations and services • Grants provided via a competitive grant process to select universities nationally since 2001. • About $375K every three years

3. CSTAR Awards Nationally • Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting (QPF), Hydrology ,Tropical/Marine, Modeling and Analysis , Forecast/Warning Processes, Radar • Albany/SUNY: Cooperative Research with the NWS on Cool- and Warm-Season Precipitation Forecasting over the Northeastern U.S. • Desert Research Institute: Improving WSR-88D QPEs in the Inter-mountain West • Florida Institute of Technology: A Real-Time Coupled Wave/Atmospheric Regional Forecast and Analysis System: CWARFS • Florida State : Operational system for probabilistic QPF, Ensemble precipitation forecasts, cloud-to-ground lightning climatologies, hydrological modeling for flash flood events • Hawaii : Evaluation of Flash Flood Prediction Models for Small Watersheds in Tropical Islands • NC State : Improving Understanding and Prediction of Warm Season Precipitation Systems in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic Regions , Topographically-forced weather systems in Carolinas and Virginia • Oklahoma : A partnership to develop, conduct, and evaluate real-time high-resolution ensemble and deterministic forecasts for convective-scale hazardous weather , Improving Tornado Detection with WSR-88D Using Spectral Analysis • Rhode Island : Transitioning coupled hurricane-ocean model to operations • Saint Louis: Improved QPF in the Central Region, Improving Prediction of Significant Weather Events in CR • Texas A&M: Lightning in the Nowcasting and Warning Process: Cooperative Research Applied to NWS Needs and Priorities • Utah : Improved Monitoring, Analysis, and Prediction of High Impact Weather, Numerical Weather Prediction, Local Weather, Mesoscale Observations in Intermountain West • Washington : Improvement of Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction ,High-resolution numerical weather prediction, grid post-processing, ensemble methodologies, Improving Marine Weather Prediction with Satellite-Derived Products

4. Northeast Project Framework • Three Tiers of Projects • Major Foci • Collaborative – Often trial for projects to upgrade • Associate – Supporting Projects • Two planning meetings per year (May & November) • Major component of NROW • Involve many Northeast NWS Offices & CWSUs • 10-15 NOAA Units • Leverage the CSTAR grant to other related local NWS office research

5. Northeast CSTAR Major Foci Projects (2001-2010) • Northeast 500hPa Cut Off Low Climatology • Precipitation Distributions w/r to Cold Season Cutoff Cyclones • Mesoscale Banded Precipitation • Precipitation Distributions w/r to Warm Season Cutoff Cyclones • Large Scale Regime Transitions (NAO) • Precipitation Distributions w/r to Land falling & Transitioning Tropical System

6. Northeast CSTAR Major Foci Projects (2001-2010) • Mesoscale Aspects of Heavy Snow/Icing Events (Moderate Banding) • Mesoscale Structure of Precipitation Regions in Northeast Winter Storms • Cool Season Moderate Precipitation Events in the Northeast US • Predecessor Rain Events in Advance of Tropical Cyclones • Warm Season Lake/Sea Breeze Induced Severe Weather • Large Scale Flow Anomalies w/r to Cool Season Precipitation Events • High Wind/Winter Severe Convective Events

7. Fog Forecasting - Improving the forecast of Fog at Elmira New York Correlation of Snow Intensity to Runway Visual Range (RVR) output Workstation ETA Projects Transition of ensembles of mesoscale models to operational forecasting Northeast Convective Flash Flood Events Northern New England Inverted Coastal Trough - (NORLUND Trough) Landfalling Tropical Systems - Additional Foci Integration of Research Into Operations Upslope Localized Snow Events (Western Maine, Hudson Valley) Compare and Contrast Three Ice Storms over New York Develop WES Simulation of 17 February 2003 Snow Event Northeast CSTAR Collaborative/Associate Projects • Fog Forecasting - Improving the forecast of Fog at Elmira New York • Workstation ETA / WRF Projects /Great Lakes Ensemble • Transition of ensembles of mesoscale models to operational forecasting • An Investigation by Multiple Doppler Radars of Sea Breeze Circulations in and Around the New York Bight. • Northeast Convective Flash Flood Events • Northern New England Inverted Coastal Trough - (NORLUND Trough) • Landfalling Tropical Systems - Additional Foci "Outlier Systems“ • Integration of Research Into Operations • Upslope Localized Snow Events (Western Maine, Hudson Valley) • Compare and Contrast Three Ice Storms over New York • Develop WES Simulation of 17 February 2003 Snow Event • Hydrometeorological Ingredients Which Enhance Widespread Harmful Algae Blooms in the Gulf of Maine and Massachusetts Bay Watersheds • Correlations between Observed Snowfall and NAM Model Parameters • Developing Probabilistic Forecasts using Ensembles • Five projects not listed that were not completed due to transfers, promotions and death of project leads.

8. CSTAR IV - Building on Success • Major Foci Projects • Ice Storms and Freezing Precipitation • Mesoscale Substructure in Winter Storms • Deep Convection, Severe Weather, and Appalachian Lee Troughs • Mesoscale Precipitation Substructures Associated with Convective Systems and Landfalling Tropical Systems that cause Flash Floods

9. CSTAR IV - Building on Success • Collaborating / Associate • ALY Decision Support Services Project (DSS) • Integrating Social Science Into Operation • Applications of Mesoscale Modeling • Improvement of Ceiling & Visibility Forecasts for TAFs • Understand the Modulation of the Climate of the Northeast United States by Hudson’s Bay (Canada). • Understanding Inland Extent of Lake Effect Snow Bands • Expanding Operational Use of Known Methods for Forecasting River Ice Formation, Snow Melt and Ice Break up. • Integration of Research Into Operations • Hudson-Mohawk Convergence Events

10. Integration into Operations • Conference presentations • Journal and other professional publications • Articulate Teletraining • Interactive VISIT Session • Use in AFDs • Webpage - http://cstar.cestm.albany.edu/ • Several CSTAR Grad Students hired by NWS