Home Latest Images Archive FAQ Manual

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • What does SatRep mean?
    The word SATREP is a link-up of the two words: Satellite and Report. Originally the SatRep is a written report containing information of the Infra Red Meteosat image in combination with NWP output and observations in terms of Conceptual Models. The method was first employed in the 1980s at the Austrian Meteorological Institute (ZAMG) and is developed by Dr. Veronika Zwatz-Meise. Further development took place with the co-operation of the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation EUMETSAT, the Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

  • What do ASII / ASIINWP mean?
    • The ASII product is developed within the SAFNWC program. ASII stands for "Automatic Satellite Image Interpretation" and is an automatic diagnosis of satellite features in terms of conceptual models (for instance: fronts, waves, Cbs, commas etc).
    • The ASIINWP product is developed within the SAFNWC program. ASII stands for "Automatic Satellite Image Interpretation" and is an automatic diagnosis of satellite features in terms of conceptual models (for instance: fronts, waves, Cbs, commas etc). NWP stands for "Numerical Weather Prediction". ASIINWP is a combination of the diagnosis of satellite images and numerical model fields for diagnosting conceptual models.

  • What does Regional SatRep mean?
    The regional SatRep is a Satellite Image (Infra Red or Visible) in which not only the Conceptual Models are analysed, but all significant weather phenomena important for the nowcasting and very short range forecasting (up to 18 hours ahead) for the confined area around the BeNeLux. The displacement of the most important phenomenas is shown by an arrow. Also the weather symbols and surfacefronts are superimposed. These images are produced at KNMI.

  • What is a Conceptual Model (CM)?
    The recommended way of synthesizing knowledge is by reference to the so-called conceptual model. Based on existing literature the following definition has been derived:

    A conceptual model describes essential features of a meteorological phenomenon and
    identifies the principal processes taking place.

    A complete conceptual model provides a:

    • Definition of the phenomenon in terms of features recognizable by observations, analysis or validated simulations;
    • Description of its life cycle in terms of appearance, size, intensity and accompanying weather;
    • Statement of the controlling physical processes which enables the understanding of the factors that determine the mode and rate of evolution of the phenomenon;
    • Specification of the key meteorological fields demonstrating the main processes;
    • Guidance for predicted meteorological conditions or situations using the diagnostic and prognostic fields that best discriminate between development or non-development; guidance for predicting displacement and evolution.

  • What is the function of conceptual models for nowcasting?

    They provide the meteorologist with:

    • help in understanding and diagnosing phenomena
    • a synthesis of all available information
    • a 4-dimensional "mental picture"
    • the basis for isolating weather processes
    • the basis for extracting the main signals from complex patterns
    • tools for support of the diagnosis of numerical models
    • a supplement to numerical models for the nowcast time scale
    • tools for identifying errors in the numerical forecast
    • tools for modification of numerical products
    • a fast forecast method
    • an independent forecast method
    • a forecast method particularly for hazardous weather
    • the possibility of filling in gaps in the data

  • What do the abbreviations in SatRep mean?

    General Abbreviations
    AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
    COST European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research
    ECMWF European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
    EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
    FMI Finnish Meteorological Institute
    HIRLAM HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model
    HRPT High Resolution Picture Transmission
    KNMI Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
    LAM Limited Area Model
    MSG Meteosat Second Generation
    NIR Near InfraRed
    NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    NWP Numerical Weather Prediction
    PBL Planetary Boundery Layer
    RADAR RAdio Detection And Ranging
    RGB Red Green Blue
    SAF Satellite Aplication Facility
    SAFNC Satellite Aplication Facility NowCasting
    UTC Univeral Time Coordinated
    VIS Visible
    VSRF Very Short Range Forecast
    WMO World Meteorological Organization
    ZAMG Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics

    Abbreviations of Conceptual Models
    ABSTOP Absolute Topography
    BB OCCL Back Bent Occlusion
    Bcl Bound Baroclinic Boundary
    BL Boundary Layer
    BOYD Boyden Index
    CA Cold Air Advection
    CCC Closed Cell Convection
    CAD Cold Air Development
    Cb Cumulonimbus
    CCB Cold Conveyor Belt
    CF Cold Front
    CF in CA Cold Front in Cold Advection
    CF in WA Cold Front in Warm Advection
    Ci Cirrus
    CISK Conditional Instability of the Second Kind
    Conv Convergence
    Cu Cumulus
    Div Divergence
    EC Enhanced Cumuli
    FD Front Decay
    FI Front Intensification
    Inst Occl Instant Occlusion
    IPV Isentropic Potential Vorticity
    MCC Mesoscale Convective Complex
    MCS Mesoscale Convective System
    NVA Negative Vorticity Advection
    OCC Open Cell Convection
    OCCL Occlusion
    PFJ Polar Front Jet
    PL Polar Low
    PV Potential Vorticity
    PVA Positive Vorticity Advection
    RELTOP Relative Topography
    SH-index Showalter Index
    Sc Stratocumulus
    St Stratus
    TA Temperature Advection
    TFP Thermal Front Parameter
    THR Thickness Ridge
    ULL Upper Level Low
    UTH Upper Tropospheric Humidity
    WA Warm Air Advection
    WCB Warm Conveyor Belt
    WF Warm Front
    WV Water Vapour

  • Which numerical models / satellite images are used?
    • "When making the SatRep the ECMWF-modelfields are used. If another model is used, it will then be mentioned in the accompanying text. On the other hand the Regional Satrep uses the HiRLAM-modelfields as a basis.
    • The underlaying Satellite image is in most cases an IR-image (10.8 µ) from MSG. In case of the Regional SatRep sometimes, during daytime, the visible channel (0.6 µ or HRVIS ) is being used.


  • At what time are the SatReps updated?

      Depends off coarse on time of the MSG-image (MSG-time) that's being used. The automated satreps use all available MSG-images (i.e. 4 images per hr). The International SatReps are based on satellite images at the mean hours ( =00/06/12/18 UTC). The Regionale SatReps are produced every 3 hours (using the images at the intermediate and mean hours), but can use every MSG-image as a base (so non-standard times like 11:45 UTC are therefore possible too).
      Important note: an image e.g. of 09 UTC is available for processing at 09:15 UTC (15 minutes later)

    • Int. SatRep: within 1 or 1.5 hr after MSG-time (in the weekends there is no 06UTC-satrep)
    • Reg. SatRep: within the hour after MSG-time (03 en 21UTC are often not produced because of a busy timetable).
    • ASII: within 15 minutes after MSG-time
    • ASIINWP: within 30 minutes after MSG-time

  • Technical Requirements homepage and manual: recommended minimum
    • Screen: 1024x768 resolution or higher
    • Browser: Internet Explorer 5.5 upward, Netscape Navigator 6.0 upward, Mozilla Firefox.
    • Javascript must be enabled in order to benefit from the features on this site.


 
About Contact Us Sitemap
Austrian Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Finnish Meteorological Institute Finnish Meteorological Institute European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites