Briefing Guidelines - Metr 170 A

 

These guidelines are designed to give you a framework from which you can develop a weather briefing. When giving your briefing it is very important to use established terminology for the situation or phenomenon you are describing, please ask for help. A briefing starts with study and preparation. You can't give a good weather briefing if you don't understand the weather situation, and you can't understand the weather situation without thorough analysis. It is quite common to talk about less than half of what you study and prepare for in your briefing. All items below should be looked at before you prepare your briefing. Items where it says "discuss" represent the minimum material to be presented. Other items where it says "examine" should be presented if they are pertinent, add quality and breadth to the briefing, AND you have something relevant to say about them. When referring to or pointing to places on the map, use the correct geographic references, see map1 and map2

 

(Note: you should always read the latest local Forecast Discussion, and maybe the surrounding ones as well, in preparation for your briefing) 
 

A. Big picture:

1) Discuss large scale (hemispheric) analyses and locate major troughs ridges, jet streams, and short waves. 

       a) show 12z GFS NA 300 mb heights and isotachs (Troughs, ridges, jet stream analysis)

     b) show 12z GFS NA 500 mb heights and vort. (Troughs, ridges, shortwaves)

2) Discuss large scale satellite imagery as it relates to large weather features in the forecast region.  (Usually IR, GARP)

3) Show current large scale surface analysis. Other analyses can be found here. And here.
  

B. Current local weather analysis:

1) Discuss local satellite imagery (GARP 1KM Vis)

2) Examine local radar if precipitation is occurring in our region.

3) Discuss the current obs. (Surface plots SJSU, and others if necessary)

(Note: if this is the first day of a city, then show climo numbers and topography map)

C. Forecasting:

1) Examine trends observed in your local weather analysis.

2) Discuss model forecasts for your location, use 12Z NAM 212 East or West or GFS 0.5 degree East or West.and use the "forecast funnel" unless otherwise indicated.

    a) 300 mb isotachs (RH if necessary)

    b) 500 mb heights and vorticity. (RH if necessary)

    c) 700 mb omega (should be on either GFS or NAM 211), (700 RH from NAM/GFS if necessary)

    d) 850 (or 925mb temps) (RH if necessary)

    e) Surface temps/precip (From NAM 215 and GFS precip for comparison if necessary)

3) Identify and discuss the main forecast problem or problems.(this can be done in 2 above)

4) Discuss model soundings and corroborate what you've seen so far. (SJSU)

5) Discuss the GFS, NAM and or NGM MOS forecasts for your location.  (SJSU)

6 ) Make a forecast, enter forecast in computer...yes, during your briefing!!

 

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