Saturday, June 30, 2007
The north south line of convection and cloud cover that has dominated the area the past few days moved off to the east last night. The ARM cloud radar shows a shallow convective cloud layer with tops between 1 and 2.5 km. The CIRPAS Twin Otter flew an afternoon cloud mission over the ARM central facility. The Twin Otter team reported very clean conditions. No other aircraft flew. This is the last official day of CLASIC but the P3 is planning to do a final survey tomorrow to examine the surface moisture conditions after all the rain we have had this month.
Friday, June 29, 2007
It has been another rainy day in Ponca City and throughout much of Oklahoma with flooding around the area. The ER-2 flew a mission over western Oklahoma to find a region less affected by the precipitation that has been prevalent in the central and eastern portions of the state. The flight included a pass over the ARM central facility on the way back to Houston. No other aircraft flew science missions today. The CHAPS aircraft (the G1 and the King Air) departed Ponca City for their home bases. The ER-2 will leave for its home base tomorrow.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Today was an A-Train satellite overpass. Once again, the CLASIC region experienced overcast skies and widespread rain. However, the ER-2 and the Twin Otter were able to fly the satellite ground track which was located just to the east of Ponca City. The ER-2 also flew over the ARM site but the Twin Otter was not able to get there due to heavy rain in that area. All other aircraft were down today.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
A region of low pressure has settled over the CLASIC domain. The sky was overcast all day with low cloud bases and widespread rain, heavy at times. The ARM central facility was closed due to flooding. All aircraft were down today.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
There was widespread cloud cover with rain today. The King Air was able to get above the cloud layer and do a Calipso mission to the northwest, over Kansas and Nebraska. All other CLASIC aircraft were down.
Monday, June 25, 2007
There was some stratocumulus this morning which started to break up into a cumulus field shortly after noon. A storm came through the area in the late afternoon. The J31 flew its last mission this morning and will be leaving tomorrow. The Twin Otter International flew a mission at the Central Facility. The other CLASIC aircraft were down today.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Today started out very clear. Shallow cumulus developed around noon and became deeper through the afternoon. The J31, Cessna 206, and Twin Otter International took advantage of the clear conditions with morning missions over the ARM central facility. The Cessna 206 followed up with a second mission in the afternoon to track the development of the boundary layer. The Twin Otter International flew a second mission over Fort Cobb. The CIRPAS Twin Otter flew a box pattern around Ponca City with the King Air overhead. The Duke Helicopter flew profiles over Fort Cobb and the P3 flew a survey pattern of the CLASIC region. The ER2 was down today with a mechanical problem.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
There was a thin overcast layer in the morning with bases near 1000 feet above ground and tops near 3000 feet. This layer broke up into a broken cumulus layer in the early afternoon and the bases lifted to 2000 feet above ground. Late in the afternoon some storms developed in the area. The low clouds kept the Cessna on the ground but all other aircraft flew. The ER2 and P3 flew their standard survey patterns. The J31 did profiles over the ARM central facility and the Little Washita site in the morning and again in the afternoon. The Twin Otter International flew survey patterns over the Little Washita and Fort Cobb sites. The Duke Helicopter flew a series of profiles over the ARM central facility. The CIRPAS Twin Otter flew a mission around the central facility.
Friday, June 22, 2007
There were broken cumulus today with some high clouds to the south. The ER2 flew its survey pattern over the CLASIC domain. The CIRPAS Twin Otter and the King Air flew a box pattern around Oklahoma City flying near the three southern super-sites: Okmulgee, Little Washita, and Fort Cobb. The Cessna 206 flew a Lagrangian pattern northeast of Ponca City. The J31 flew profiles over the ARM central facility and the Little Washita site. The P3, Twin Otter International, and the Duke helicopter were down today.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
There was a stratocumulus layer over the Ponca City area in the morning, but that developed into a broken cumulus layer early in the afternoon. The ER2 and the P3 both flew survey patterns. The CIRPAS Twin Otter flew a set of legs in the northern part of the CLASIC domain chosen to coincide with ER-2 survey pattern legs (running southwest to northeast) and near the ARM central facility. The King Air overflew this pattern. The J31 flew its usual profiles over the ARM central facility and Little Washita and the Duke helicopter flew profiles over the central facility. The Cessna 206 was down today for instrument maintenance but will be operational for tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
There were some high clouds in the region associated with convection in the Oklahoma City area but the CIRPAS Twin Otter and Cessna 206 were able to fly a coordinated profile mission over the ARM central facility. The P3 flew its survey pattern while the J31 flew profiles over the central facility and the Little Washita site.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Today was one of three A-Train satellite overpasses that are easily accessible for the CLASIC aircraft. The satellite track passed through the western portion of the experiment domain. The ER2 was grounded because of bad weather in Houston but five aircraft, including 3 from CLASIC and 2 from the associated CHAPS campaign, coordinated to fly along the satellite track in the southwest portion of the experiment domain. The five aircraft flew along the satellite track, converging along the line at the time of the overpass. From bottom to top, the aircraft in the stack were the Duke Helicopter, the Cessna 206, the G1, the CIRPAS Twin Otter, and the King Air. At the time of the overpass there were shallow broken clouds along the overpass track. On the way back from the satellite overpass, the G1 and the Twin Otter did a below-cloud instrument comparison. In addition to the satellite mission, the P3 and the Twin Otter flew survey patterns, the J31 flew profiles over the ARM Central Facility and the Little Washita site, and the Duke Helicopter flew profiles over the ARM central facility.
Monday, June 18, 2007
With widespread high clouds over the CLASIC region and with planning for a large coordinated mission tomorrow, most of the aircraft were down today. The J31 flew over the Central Facility and Little Washita.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
There was a persistent stratocumulus layer over Ponca City today and a convective line came through the SGP/Ponca City area in the mid-afternoon. The Helicopter flew a morning mission over Fort Cobb and the CIRPAS Twin Otter flew a short cloud mission over the SGP central facility. No other CLASIC aircraft flew. A front is forecast to pass through the area tomorrow which is expected to bring conditions better suited for CLASIC beginning Tuesday.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
It was comparatively clear in the morning. Shallow cumulus developed and deepened through the day. The J-31 flew an early morning mission over the SGP central facility.
The Cessna 206, CIRPAS Twin Otter, and King Air flew stacked legs over the ARM site in an afternoon broken cumulus mission. The Cessna 206 flew at several levels below cloud, the Twin Otter flew primarily in the cloud layer and the King Air flew above. The ER2, P3, Twin Otter International, and Helicopter were down today.
Friday, June 15, 2007
The SGP area continues to be influenced by a low pressure area. The CIRPAS Twin Otter flew a mission over the SGP central facility in and below a shallow cumulus layer. No other CLASIC aircraft flew today.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Central Oklahoma continues to be affected by a low pressure area to our west. The King Air flew a satellite validation mission. All other aircraft were down today. Plans are being submitted for tentative flights tomorrow but the low pressure is expected to continue to dominate weather here.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Central Oklahoma is starting to be more directly influenced by the low pressure area moving in from the west. Storms arrived in the area early this morning, before dawn and persisted until late in the morning. Conditions were better to the south so the Duke Helicopter was able to do a flux mission over Little Washita. After the storms passed in Ponca City, the J-31 did an instrument test flight.
The next several days are expected to be dominated by storms as the low pressure region settles in to the area.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
There were quite a few missions today with some aircraft flying twice, partly motivated by the expectation of some wet weather later in the week. All four of the CLASIC “supersites” were overflown at some point during the day. In the morning, the CIRPAS Twin Otter followed the Cessna 206 through its routine aerosol sampling pattern over the ARM central facility. This was intended to serve as an aerosol profile flight and a comparison of the instruments on the two aircraft. Also in the morning, the Twin Otter International flew legs over the Little Washita and Fort Cobb sites and the Duke Helicopter flew a flux profiling mission over the forest site at Okmulgee.
In the afternoon, the ER2, King Air, and CIRPAS Twin Otter all flew a combined satellite validation mission and ARM central facility overpass. At the time of the satellite overpass, there were some broken low clouds and no high clouds. The Cessna 206 flew an instrument test flight in the vicinity of Ponca City.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Weather conditions were much better today with shallow cumulus and no development of deeper convection in the experiment region. The ER-2 and the P3 flew large area survey patterns while the Twin Otter International flew survey patterns over the Little Washita and Fort Cobb surface sites. The CIRPAS Twin Otter and the Duke Helicopter each flew missions over the ARM site. The CIRPAS Twin Otter flew a series of legs over the ARM site within and below the cumulus cloud layer.
Tomorrow is an A-Train satellite overpass and most aircraft are planning to fly afternoon missions beneath the satellite track. However, there are storms forecast for the afternoon so plans for the day will be reviewed in the morning.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
A line of storms passed through the area early this morning. The morning weather briefing indicated that there would likely be a short clearing followed by more unsettled weather in the afternoon. Because of the unfavorable conditions, some of the aircraft, the CIRPAS Twin Otter, the Cessna 206, and the P3 cancelled their flights. The ER-2 carried out a short test flight and the King Air flew a satellite validation mission. The Twin Otter International and the Duke Helicopter each flew missions over the Little Washita watershed.
The weather did prove to be unsettled through much of the day with episodes of precipitation in the afternoon and evening. Conditions are forecast to improve tomorrow and flights have been planned.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Some aircraft were delayed getting to their local base of operation yesterday due to a frontal passage. All aircraft are now in place. The first formal CLASIC weather briefing was held this morning. Conditions this week are expected to be good for CLASIC science. Following subsequent discussion plans have been submitted for most aircraft to fly tomorrow.