Briefing Guidelines - Metr 171 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 have read at least the local Forecast Discussion, and maybe the surrounding ones as well) 

 

(See the Briefing Score Sheet to get a detailed look at how your briefing will be graded)

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

A. Big picture:

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

       a) show 12z GFS NA300 mb heights and isotachs (Troughs, ridges, jet stream analysis)

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

2) Discuss 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, show regional then local. (Surface plot SJSU)

 

C. Forecasting:

1) Examine trends observed in your local weather analysis.

2) Discuss model forecasts for your location, use 12Z NAM 212 East/West or GFS East/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 (700 RH if necessary)

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

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

    f) identify significant NAM GFS model differences

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

4) Look at model soundings to corroborate what you've seen so far. (SJSU)

5) Look at model cross sections to corroborate what you've seen so far. (SJSU)

6) In depth analysis of one particular area (Discuss with Mike Voss before briefing)

   - this might be a cross section analysis, or model comparison, for example

7) Show significant interpolated model numbers (TAMU)

8) Discuss the AVN, NAM and forecasts for your location. Look at MOS performance if interesting and list missing day numbers

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

 

CWFC page