Skyvector Details New Weather Products

Skyvector, the online provider of worldwide aeronautical charts and flight planning services, has added two new graphical weather products to its offerings: the multi-radar/multi-sensor (MRMS), a real-time 3D precipitation model; and the cloud top height layer, which combines satellite-based infrared observations with the legacy Skew-T forecast data.

The MRMS product was developed by NOAA's National Severe Storm Laboratory to meet FAA NextGen Air Transportation System requirements and uses information from multiple radar stations along with non-radar data. According to Skyvector, the MRMS uses advanced algorithms to suppress artifacts created by dust or insects and generate “clean” imagery down to five dBZ. The MRMS presentation also includes bias-corrected intensity levels using rain-gauge data to generate meaningful and consistent colors.

“The best thing about MRMS is its speed," said David Graves, Skyvector's founder. “MRMS produces a frame every two minutes, compared with other products that operate on a five-minute frame rate.”

Skyvector's new cloud top height layer is produced by combining Skew-T forecasts with IR4 satellite-based weather data to estimate cloud top heights from 26,000 feet and higher. The new product includes a color scale clearly highlighting 30,000-, 40,000- and 50,000-foot altitudes. Skyvector's implementation allows users to customize the display to show only those cloud tops estimated at or above their chosen altitude.