VAWS: Multi-satellite Water Vapor Products at the Weather Climate Interface

Speaker: John Forsythe, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

Water vapor is the fuel for much of what we perceive as weather, including the formation of clouds and precipitation. Since the primary source of water vapor is evaporation over the oceans, global satellite observations provide an essential measurement. Weather forecasters use two CIRA-developed products, Blended Total Precipitable Water (BTPW) and Advected Layer Precipitable Water (ALPW), to track pipelines of moisture which support heavy precipitation. During this webinar, we will discuss transitions that will be made with these two satellite products this year and we will review how ALPW can be used to forecast extreme events as satellite records begin to cover more decades.