The White Falcon - 02.04.1993, Page 2

A View from the top... A look inside NOCF
By CDR Kristine Harper
Commanding Officer, NOCF
Although one of your top ten reasons for
being stationed in Keflavik is probably not
the weather, the very diversity of the weather
is a real attraction for those of us in the
weather business.
The personnel of the Naval Oceanography
Command Facility (NOCF) frequently get
asked questions concerning the weather. Here
are a few representations:
Q: What is a SNOWTAM (Snow Notices
To Airman)?
A: A SNOWTAM is a runway condition
to let aviators know how slippery the runway
is. When Channel 9 indicates “SNOW-
TAM:088” it means the most current SNOW-
TAM is number 88. They are numbered
sequentially starting January 1 each year, and
when summer arrives will disappear. Tofind
out what the runway conditions are, look at
the top of your screen where it indicates MU.
The three numbers that follow indicate how
slippery the first, middle, and last third of the
operational runways are. The numbers range
from 1 to 99. The higher the number, the
better the friction and vice-versa.
Q: How often is the weather radar picture
updated on NBS Channel 19?
A: The radar updates about every 30
seconds. If you look closely, you can see the
sweeping white line originating from
Keflavik.
Q: How far out docs the radar "see" ?
A: The radar can “see” out 85 nautical
miles (nm). To find out the current range
look at the number in the upper left hand
comer of your TV screen. The number in the
upper right hand comer tells you how far
Weather forecasters release a weather ballon in front of their office in January, 1946. The
men were part of the 8th Weather Detachment, Upper Air Squadron. For more information
about the military in Iceland, see pages 5 through 8. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
apart the rings are.
Q: What do the colors mean?
A: The colors indicate the intensity of rain
or snow showers in the area. A green indi-
cates light to moderate precipitation. Yellow
indicates moderate to heavy, and red is heavy
precipitation.
Q: How am I supposed to use it?
A: It is pretty easy. If you would like to
track showers, grab a water-soluable marker
and circle a couple of colored areas. Mark
down the time and wait about 10 minutes.
Based on the direction of movement and how
far it has moved, you can then figure out if
and when that area will hit us.
Q: How far in advance can you forecast?
A: Because of the amount of data available
west of Iceland, we are limited to 36 hours for
a realistic forecast. The weather here can
change in five minutes and it is almost im-
possible to pick up those five minute changes.
Q: How do you make forecasts anyway?
A: We use a variety of products to make
forecasts, such as computer generated weather
charts from both Navy and British sources for
a “first guess.” Satellite pictures are used to
confirm placement of pressure areas and
frontal systems. Observations from areas
west of Iceland give us an idea of system
movements. Lastly, we use weather radar to
track movement within the vicinity.
Q: If you have such great information,
how come we got hit by that blizzard out of
the blue on St. Patrick's Day?
A: The blizzard was a low level system^
under clouds and surprised us. Systems eg
be small, intense and develop rapidly, thusf
between the points on the computer. TheJ
spin up quickly and are less than 100 nm in
diameter, accompanied by high winds and
precipitation. They may not appear on a
satellite picture.
Q: Will it ever be summer?
A: Summer is out there. The “warm”
ocean currents keep the climate mild in win-
ter and foggy and chilly in the summer.
Any questions? Call NOCF at ext. 7829.

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HITE
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Commander, Iceland Defense Force
RADM Michael D. Haskins
Public Affairs Officer
LT Joseph L. Quimby
Deputy Public Affairs Officer
Fridthdr Kr. Eydal
Chief Petty Officer in Charge
JOC Terry J. Bamlhouse
Draftsman
DM2 Danielle J. Kim
Editor
J02 Colleen “Ghostwriter" Casper
Journalists
J02 Carlos Bongioanni
J03 (SW) Andreas Walter
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