Please bear with us while this page is undergoing major renovation. Thanks!
ken_waight@ncsu.edu

MASS model image map
MASS? /Info /Image Status /Model Status /Update

Standard Plots

Winds

Surface Plots

Cross Sections

Moisture/Thermodynamic

Derived QG fields

Soundings

Bandpass Filtered Fields
Our most recent products!


Forecast Hours

500mb Heights/Temperatures/Wind INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
500mb Heights/Vorticity INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
700mb Heights/ SFC-500mb Mean RH. INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
850mb Heights/Temperatures/Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
1000-500mb Thickness/ Mean Sea Level Pressure/Hourly precip. 00 06 12 18 24 30 36
Surface Winds and Lifted Index INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
15km PMSL/Surface Winds/ Hourly precip * * 12 18 24 30 36
*The "standard plots" were called so because they represented the initial stage 
of the Real Time MASS project with the Raleigh NWSFO.
STNDRD MOIST WINDS SURF. WX SOUND CROSS QG BF

Forecast Hours

Surface Theta-e Coarse 45km INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
Nested 15km * * 12 18 24 30 36
Surface Mixing Ratio INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
950 mb Mixing Ratio INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
850 mb Mixing Ratio INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
700 mb Mixing Ratio INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
Heights / Temperatures / Dewpoints (4 Panels)
Surface 3-12hr 15-24hr 27-36hr
950 mb 3-12hr 15-24hr 27-36hr
850 mb 3-12hr 15-24hr 27-36hr
700 mb 3-12hr 15-24hr 15-24hr
STNDRD MOIST WINDS SURF. WX SOUND CROSS QG BF

Forecast Hours

200mb. Heights, Winds, and Isotachs INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
200mb. Ageostrophic Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
300mb. Heights, Winds, and Isotachs INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
300mb. Ageostrophic Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
400mb. Heights, Winds, and Isotachs INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
400mb. Ageostrophic Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
500mb. Heights, Winds, and Isotachs INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
500mb. Ageostrophic Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
700mb. Heights, Winds, and Isotachs INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
700mb. Ageostrophic Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
850mb. Heights, Winds, and Isotachs INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
850mb. Ageostrophic Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
950mb. Ageostrophic Winds INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
STNDRD MOIST WINDS SURF. WX SOUND CROSS QG BF

Forecast Hours

Coarse 45km INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
Nested 15km * * 12 18 24 30 36

OTHER SURFACE FIELDS

3hr PMSL tendency INIT. 03 06 09 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36
Surface Frontogenesis INIT. 06 12 18 24 30 36
STNDRD MOIST WINDS SURF. WX SOUND CROSS QG BF


Forecast Hours

Raleigh Durham,NC. (RDU) INIT 12 24 36
Greensboro, NC. (GSO) INIT 12 24 36
Asheville, NC. (AVL) INIT 12 24 36
Hickory, NC. (HKY) INIT 12 24 36
Morehead City NC. (MHX) INIT 12 24 36
Wilmington, NC.(ILM) INIT 12 24 36
Roanoke, VA. (ROA) INIT 12 24 36
Lynchburg, VA. (LYH) INIT 12 24 36
Sterling, VA. (IAD) INIT 12 24 36
Wallops, MD. (WAL) INIT 12 24 36
Baltimore, MD. (BWI) INIT 12 24 36
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC. (GSP) INIT 12 24 36
Columbia, SC. (CAE) INIT 12 24 36
Charlotte, NC. (CLT) INIT 12 24 36
Charleston, SC. (CHS) INIT 12 24 36
Philedelphia, PA. (PHL) INIT 12 24 36
Pittsburgh, PA. (PIT) INIT 12 24 36
Atlanta, GA. (FFC) INIT 12 24 36
STNDRD MOIST WINDS SURF. WX SOUND CROSS QG BF

Isentropic Cross Seciton (JKL-MHX) INIT 12 24 36
Isentropic Cross Seciton (IAD-CAE) INIT 12 24 36
Isentropic Cross Seciton (TOL-ILM) INIT 12 24 36
STNDRD MOIST WINDS SURF. WX SOUND CROSS QG BF

Some QG fields
700-300 mb Layer Q vectors INIT 06 12 18 24 24 36

Bandpass Filtered Fields
P' [(N=2)-(N=20)]
INIT 06 12 18 24 30 36 
The European Forecast
The MASS model is also currently being run in real-time by the Univeristy of Barcelona (Universitat de Barcelona)

What Is MASS ?

 The MASS is a three dimensional,hydrostatic,primitive equation numerical mesoscale model developed by MESO Inc. It is being run on a DEC 3000 workstation located on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University. The model is being run on a 45 km coarse grid covering the US east coast and a 15km one way interactive nested grid covering the Carolinas and Virginia. The model is initilized from the 00z early ETA initilization. It is run once a day to provide a 36hr forecast.

This project is a cooperative effort between the NWSFO at Raleigh and North Carolina State University in a hope to better familiarize Operational forecasters with Mesoscale models. As the NWS continues its modernization and a greater focus is placed on short term forecasting mesocale procceses and mesoscale models will be a vital part of the forecast office. The model products are delievered to the NWSFO at Raleigh North Carolina via this WEB page and on there SAC (Science Applications Computer) via NTRANS.

The real time model runs are also being archived and used to assess a mesoscale models capability of forecasting winter weather phenomena in the Carolinas. Events such as cold air damming create a wide range of forecast difficulties across a single forecast area.

How is the MASS output plotted?

The MASS forecast plots were created using GEMPAK. All of the images are giff format.

Special Thanks to COMET and the NWS for the cooperative spirit needed to support this project.

questions or comments email (Devin Kramer):kramer@rain.meas.ncsu.edu