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In this paper the construction of real-time integrated water vapor (IWV) maps from a surface network of global positioning system (GPS) receivers is presented. The IWV maps are constructed using a two-dimensional variational technique with a persistence background that is 15 min old. The background error covariances are determined using a novel two-step method, which is based on the Hollingsworth–Lonnberg method. The quality of these maps is assessed by comparison with radiosonde observations and IWV maps from a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. The analyzed GPS IWV maps have no bias against radiosonde observations and a small bias against NWP analysis and forecasts up to 9 h. The standard deviation with radiosonde observations is around 2 kg m-2, and the standard deviation with NWP increases with increasing forecast length (from 2 kg m-2 for the NWP analysis to 4 kg m-2 for a forecast length of 48 h). To illustrate the additional value of these real-time products for nowcasting, three thunderstorm cases are discussed. The constructed GPS IWV maps are combined with data from the weather radar, a lightning detection network, and surface wind observations. All cases show that the location of developing thunderstorms can be identified 2 h prior to initiation in the convergence of moist air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Système d’analyse fournissant des renseignements atmosphériques à la neige (SAFRAN) is a mesoscale atmospheric analysis system for surface variables. It produces an analysis at the hourly time step using ground data observations. One of SAFRAN’s main features is that it is based on climatically homogeneous zones and is able to take vertical variations into account. Originally intended for mountainous areas, it was later extended to cover France. This paper focuses on the validation of the extended version. The principle of the analysis is described and its quality was tested for five parameters (air temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall, and incoming radiation), using Météo-France’s observation network and data of some well-instrumented stations. Moreover, SAFRAN’s rainfall was compared with another analysis, known as analyse utilisant le relief pour l’hydrométéorologie (Aurelhy). Last, two different versions of SAFRAN were compared for mountain conditions. Temperature and relative humidity were well reproduced, presenting no bias. Wind speed was also well reproduced; however, its bias was -0.3 m s–1. The interpolation from the 6-h time step of the analysis to the 1-h time step was one of the sources of error. The precipitation analysis was robust and not biased; its root-mean-square error was 2.4 mm day-1. This error was mainly due to the spatial heterogeneity of the precipitation within the geographical zones of analysis (1000 km2). The analysis of incoming solar radiation presented some biases, especially in coastal areas. The results of the comparison with some well-instrumented sites were encouraging. SAFRAN is being run operationally at Météo-France on a real-time basis for various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global positioning system (GPS) data from a dense network have been used for the analysis of the diurnal cycle of water vapor over Marseille, France, during the second intensive observation period (IOP2; 21–26 June 2001) of the Expérience sur Sites pour Contraindre les Modèles de Pollution Atmosphérique et de Transport d’Emission (ESCOMPTE) field experiment. Both tomographic analyses and integrated water vapor (IWV) contents from GPS have been used, in addition to wind profiler data and surface observations. Tomographic analysis of data from the dense GPS network and radiosondes provided the continuous temporal evolution of the vertical distribution of water vapor over the city of Marseille. The city is located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in southeastern France and is often under the influence of sea-breeze effects. Two different layers of breeze circulation are identified: a shallow sea breeze, blowing perpendicular to the local coastline, and a deep sea breeze, induced by the regional temperature gradient between sea and land. The origin of water vapor is shown to be mainly due to the advection of marine moist air by these sea-breeze circulations. However, the diurnal cycle of water vapor over Marseille is strongly influenced by the synoptic situation, which changes during the IOP2 (between a northerly mistral in the early stage of the IOP and an easterly wind at the end). It is shown that vertical profiles from tomographic analyses (combined with wind profiler data) allow for a proper interpretation of the diurnal cycle observed in IWV. Two-dimensional maps of IWV are also shown to complement the description of the horizontal advection of moisture by the different circulation regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]