Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Verification of Operational Analyses Using an Extremely High-Density Surface Station Network

Alexander Kann Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, Austria

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Thomas Haiden Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, Austria

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Klaus von der Emde Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, Austria

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Christine Gruber Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, Austria

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Thomas Kabas Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, and Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Meteorology/Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Armin Leuprecht Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, and Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Meteorology/Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Gottfried Kirchengast Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, and Institute for Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Meteorology/Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Print Publication:
01 Aug 2011
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-11-00031.1
Page(s):
572–578
Restricted access

Abstract

Operational analyses of 2-m temperature, 2-m humidity, and 10-m wind speed are verified independently against observations obtained from the WegenerNet, an extremely high-density, grid-type surface station network in southeastern Austria with an average distance between stations of 1.4 km. The Integrated Nowcasting through Comprehensive Analysis (INCA) system provides high-resolution analyses in space (1 km) and time (1 h) over the eastern Alpine region and has been specially designed for use in complex terrain. The quality of the system is investigated within a small domain with gentle topography ranging in elevation from 250 to 500 m. A comprehensive validation of INCA relative to WegenerNet for a 3-yr period from December 2007 to November 2010 indicates high analysis skill during all seasons. A sensitivity study reveals the importance of a sufficiently dense station network used by the system and, even more important, the relevance of adequate representativeness of the observation data.

Corresponding author address: Alexander Kann, Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Hohe Warte 38, 1190 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: alexander.kann@zamg.ac.at

Abstract

Operational analyses of 2-m temperature, 2-m humidity, and 10-m wind speed are verified independently against observations obtained from the WegenerNet, an extremely high-density, grid-type surface station network in southeastern Austria with an average distance between stations of 1.4 km. The Integrated Nowcasting through Comprehensive Analysis (INCA) system provides high-resolution analyses in space (1 km) and time (1 h) over the eastern Alpine region and has been specially designed for use in complex terrain. The quality of the system is investigated within a small domain with gentle topography ranging in elevation from 250 to 500 m. A comprehensive validation of INCA relative to WegenerNet for a 3-yr period from December 2007 to November 2010 indicates high analysis skill during all seasons. A sensitivity study reveals the importance of a sufficiently dense station network used by the system and, even more important, the relevance of adequate representativeness of the observation data.

Corresponding author address: Alexander Kann, Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Hohe Warte 38, 1190 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: alexander.kann@zamg.ac.at
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