Real-Time Energetics Diagnostics

These plots are created twice a day, using data from the 00Z or 12Z GFS analysis. All plots (except the wave packet envelope function and 300-hPa heights) show vertical averages of the quantities plotted. The mean state used in making these plots is derived from the GFS analyses valid at the corresponding time over the most recent 28 days. Currently, 96.429 % of the data is good.

Swanson and Roebber (2008) showed that analysis error over the North Pacific leads to greater forecast uncertainty downstream over North America. The current GFS/ECMWF 500-mb height differences over the North Pacific are provided to augment the energetics/wave packet analyses.

Northern Hemisphere Plots
	180W-60W	120W-0	60W-60E	0-120E	60E-180E	120E-120W
Eddy Kinetic Energy	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Eddy Kinetic Energy Advection by Eddy Wind	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Ageostrophic Geopotential Flux Convergence	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Baroclinic Conversion	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Barotropic Conversion	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Wave Packet Envelope Function (C. Demod.)	Animation	Day -4	Day -3	Day -2	Day -1	Current
Wave Packet Envelope Function (Zimin)	Animation	Day -4	Day -3	Day -2	Day -1	Current
Hovmöller Diagram of Ageo. Geop. Flux Conv..	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Baroclinic Conversion	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Barotropic Conversion	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Wave Packet Env. Func. CD	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Wave Packet Env. Func. Z	XX

Southern Hemisphere Plots
	180W-60W	120W-0	60W-60E	0-120E	60E-180E	120E-120W
Eddy Kinetic Energy	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Eddy Kinetic Energy Advection by Eddy Wind	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Ageostrophic Geopotential Flux Convergence	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Baroclinic Conversion	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Barotropic Conversion	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Wave Packet Envelope Function (C. Demod.)	Animation	Day -4	Day -3	Day -2	Day -1	Current
Wave Packet Envelope Function (Zimin)	Animation	Day -4	Day -3	Day -2	Day -1	Current
Hovmöller Diagram of Ageo. Geop. Flux Conv.	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Baroclinic Conversion	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Barotropic Conversion	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Wave Packet Envl. Func. CD	XX
Hovmöller Diagram of Wave Packet Envl. Func. Z	XX

References

Chang, E. K. M., 2000: Wave packets and life cycles of troughs in the upper troposphere: Examples from the Southern Hemisphere summer season of 1984/85. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 25–50.
Decker, S. G., and J. E. Martin, 2005: A local energetics analysis of the life cycle differences between consecutive, explosively deepening, continental cyclones. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 295–316.
Orlanski, I., and J. P. Sheldon, 1995: Stages in the energetics of baroclinic systems. Tellus, 47A, 605–628.
Swanson, K. L., and P. J. Roebber, 2008: The impact of analysis error on medium-range weather forecasts. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 3425–3431.
Zimin, A. V., and Coauthors, 2003: Extracting envelopes of Rossby wave packets. Mon. Wea. Rev., 131, 1011–1017.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Justin McLay, whose prior work has laid the foundation for this web page.