Iis there a weather chart with cloud base and tops depicted?

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA

A Skew-T would give you the temperature-dewpoint spread at various
locations...seems to me that there should be a number of reporting points in
the Bay Area, although you could do it by lat-long. An altitude where the
T-DP exceeds 3 degrees (maybe, 5 would be better) should be cloud-free.

Go to http://rucsoundings.noaa.gov/, read the tutorials, etc at the bottom
(especially the article from "The Front"), and have at it. Then go to
www.chesavtraining.com to get acquainted with Scott Dennstaedt,
meteorologist/CFII; buy his CD program on Skew-T for a real education.

Scott participates in the AOPA and Pilots of America forums.

Bob Gardner

"Terence Wilson" wrote in message
...
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA

Area Forecast.

"Terence Wilson" wrote in message
...
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA

On Fri, 30 May 2008 09:39:00 -0700, Terence Wilson
wrote:

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA

Here's a site that I use:
http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/laun...l=avn&state=TX

Note that in the URL, the airport ID (KSGR) and state would have to
change - but it's a resonably decent site.

Good luck.

Karl - PP/ASEL/IA

If we're both looking at the same site, Karl, I can see the cloud bases but
nothing about tops.

Bob Gardner

"Karl" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 30 May 2008 09:39:00 -0700, Terence Wilson
wrote:

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA

Here's a site that I use:
http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/laun...l=avn&state=TX

Note that in the URL, the airport ID (KSGR) and state would have to
change - but it's a resonably decent site.

Good luck.

Karl - PP/ASEL/IA

Just noticed that in their FAQ they say unequivocally that the site does not
provide tops.

Bob Gardner

"Karl" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 30 May 2008 09:39:00 -0700, Terence Wilson
wrote:

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA

Here's a site that I use:
http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/laun...l=avn&state=TX

Note that in the URL, the airport ID (KSGR) and state would have to
change - but it's a resonably decent site.

Good luck.

Karl - PP/ASEL/IA

On Fri, 30 May 2008 09:39:00 -0700, Terence Wilson
wrote in :

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA


A little research yielded this information:

http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/702ef0bfe021ab3986256bb2005c1458/$FILE/sec1-5.pdf
In addition, pilots are a vital source of upper-air weather
observations. In fact, aircraft in flight are the only means of
directly observing turbulence, icing, and height of cloud tops. For
more information on PIREPs, see Section 3. Recently some US and other
international airlines have equipped their aircraft with instruments
that automatically send weather observations via a satellite downlink.
These are important observations which are used by NCEP in their
production of forecasts. 1999


http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/pireps/java/
PIREPs Java Tool


http://aviationweather.gov/obs/radar/
Radar Coded Message Composite Image with Tops


http://www.crh.noaa.gov/gjt/?n=tweb
Transcribed Weather Broadcasts


http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/cwwd/faqs/twb.htm
TRANSCRIBED WEATHER BROADCAST ROUTE FORECAST
To assist pilots in preflight and enroute planning. The forecast
provides expected conditions (sky condition, cloud tops, surface
visibility, weather and obstructions to visibility, and significant
surface wind) along and 25 nautical miles either side of a specified
route. TWEB route forecasts are disseminated via appropriate Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) communications systems,including low
frequency navigational aids.
CONTACT: Judson Ladd, W/SR1x2
Regional Aviation Meteorologist
(817) 978-2652 Ext. 109


Inquire he




http://www.weather.gov/tg/radarimage.html
The NCEP/AWC composite image is produced which includes aviation used
cloud tops, convective sigmets, and outlooks.

TWEB products have been discontinued.

Bob Gardner

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 30 May 2008 09:39:00 -0700, Terence Wilson
wrote in :

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we've had coastal clouds in the
mornings with ceilings in the 1000-2000 range recently, 10-20 miles
west of Oakland the clouds dissipate completely. I was wondering
weather there exists a reliable way of determining the cloud tops
(other than PIREPs).

TIA


A little research yielded this information:

http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/702ef0bfe021ab3986256bb2005c1458/$FILE/sec1-5.pdf
In addition, pilots are a vital source of upper-air weather
observations. In fact, aircraft in flight are the only means of
directly observing turbulence, icing, and height of cloud tops. For
more information on PIREPs, see Section 3. Recently some US and other
international airlines have equipped their aircraft with instruments
that automatically send weather observations via a satellite downlink.
These are important observations which are used by NCEP in their
production of forecasts. 1999


http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/pireps/java/
PIREPs Java Tool


http://aviationweather.gov/obs/radar/
Radar Coded Message Composite Image with Tops


http://www.crh.noaa.gov/gjt/?n=tweb
Transcribed Weather Broadcasts


http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/cwwd/faqs/twb.htm
TRANSCRIBED WEATHER BROADCAST ROUTE FORECAST
To assist pilots in preflight and enroute planning. The forecast
provides expected conditions (sky condition, cloud tops, surface
visibility, weather and obstructions to visibility, and significant
surface wind) along and 25 nautical miles either side of a specified
route. TWEB route forecasts are disseminated via appropriate Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) communications systems,including low
frequency navigational aids.
CONTACT: Judson Ladd, W/SR1x2
Regional Aviation Meteorologist
(817) 978-2652 Ext. 109


Inquire he




http://www.weather.gov/tg/radarimage.html
The NCEP/AWC composite image is produced which includes aviation used
cloud tops, convective sigmets, and outlooks.

On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 08:28:25 -0700, "Bob Gardner"
wrote in :

TWEB products have been discontinued.

Well, perhaps inquiring of the person who was responsible for TWEB,
and asking him which products now contain the cloud top data might be
fruitful: Judson Ladd, W/SR1x2, Regional Aviation Meteorologist,
(817) 978-2652 Ext. 109.

I listened to a TWEB earlier today, so they are not discontinued. (ENM).


"Bob Gardner" wrote in
:

TWEB products have been discontinued.

Bob Gardner