Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

Introduction
Pages 4-12

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 4...
... There is, for example, heightened awareness of the crucial role played by weather in major air and space transportation accidents, such as the Dallas-Ft. Worth airliner crash, the Centaur Atlas launch lightning accident, and the Challenger space shuttle disaster.
From page 5...
... A singular characteristic of heavy precipitation and severe weather is that they are often highly localized events that occur over small areas and for limited times. These mesoscale weather events are the ones that most directly affect humans, yet many elude detection by the present upperair weather observing network, which is built around 12-hourty balloon soundings at sites some 500 km apart, and even by the surface observing network, which has typical site spacings of 100 to 200 km.
From page 6...
... of maximum precipitation, suggesting rotation, (c) Visible satellite image for 2130 UTC, July 16, 1982.
From page 7...
... (Reprinted, with permission, from Murphy and Fritsch, 1989. © 1989 by the American Meteorological Society.)
From page 8...
... Mesoscale systems also significantly affect the exchange of water between the earth and the atmosphere and form a critical link in the hydrologic cycle. The improved basic understanding of the hydrologic cycle resulting from a mesoscale research program will support improved water resource policies and contribute to our understanding of global climate change.
From page 9...
... to "conduct a brief survey of the current mesoscale meteorological research being conducted throughout the federal government and to develop a preliminary assessment of the adequacy of this research in terms of the important opportunities that exist in this area of scientific endeavor." The ensuing NRC report, Current Mesoscale Meteorological Research in the United States (NRC, 1981) , recommended the establishment of a national mesoscale program of basic and applied research directed toward better understanding and improved prediction of mesoscale weather events.
From page 10...
... To help address these needs, the National STORM Project Office has recently been established to coordinate improvements in the National Weather Service's (NWS) operational systems with the nation's weather research program and to plan for a national mesoscale program that will further both understanding and predictive capability.
From page 11...
... In this report, the committee urges the implementation of a national mesoscale program that will provide both the scientific understanding and the development of the operational techniques required to make the best use of the large investment in instrumentation and technology, leading to improved weather predictions in all parts of the nation. This report discusses several new technological capabilities relevant to mesoscale meteorology and their relationship to advances in scientific understanding; important relationships between mesoscale meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and climate are also identified (Chapter 2)
From page 12...
... The program should result in a major leap forward in understanding of mesoscale processes and in developing markedly improved weather forecasting services for all segments of our society.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.