John Horel, Jonathan Slemmer, Mike Splitt NOAA Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction, CWSU ZLC Local Microclimates of the Wasatch Front and Olympic.

John Horel, Jonathan Slemmer*, Mike Splitt

NOAA Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction,* CWSU ZLC

Local Microclimates of the Wasatch Local Microclimates of the Wasatch Front and Olympic VenuesFront and Olympic Venues

www.met.utah.edu/olympics

OverviewOverview

What is the “normal” weather for February/March?– Interplay of synoptic/mesoscale weather

systems and local terrain Preparing for media and public interest in

the weather during the Olympics Monitoring weather during the Olympics:


Is it very

common to have so many hours in

a row of …?

Has “this” ever happened before?


Olympic Climate InformationOlympic Climate Information


February/March 500 mb HeightFebruary/March 500 mb Height

Zonal Average Removed

February

SLC

SLC

March


Local Weather Local Weather HazardsHazards

• Orographic snow• Lake effect snowbands• Dense fog• Downslope winds

• Gap flows


What’s the difference in precipitation between What’s the difference in precipitation between the valleys and mountains?the valleys and mountains?

Annual Annual Precipitation: Precipitation:

NRCS (in)NRCS (in)


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr

SLCAlta

S no w

fall

(In

c he s

)

How does snowfall vary during the How does snowfall vary during the winter ?winter ?

Monthly Snowfall: Monthly Snowfall: 1948-20001948-2000


How often do strong fronts move How often do strong fronts move through the Wasatch Front?through the Wasatch Front?

February- 1+ strong front per yearMarch- 2+ strong fronts per year


How often is there heavy snowfall?How often is there heavy snowfall?

During the Olympic period, 2 periods of 7 consecutive hours of moderate/heavy snowfall


How often is there strong wind?How often is there strong wind?

During the Olympic period, 2 years with more than 24 consecutive hours of winds > 20 mph


How often is there dense How often is there dense fog/stable conditions?fog/stable conditions?

1 Occurrence of 13 consecutive hours of dense fog


What’s the chance for fog during What’s the chance for fog during Opening/Closing Ceremonies?Opening/Closing Ceremonies?

Higher chance of stable period for Opening Ceremonies than Closing Ceremonies


Was the fog last winter unusual?Was the fog last winter unusual?


Is this year unusually cold?Is this year unusually cold?

For the Olympic period, 18 of 24 h were below freezing during 1989; 3 of 24 h during 1992


The Olympic regionThe Olympic region

Snowbasin Downhill, Combined, Super-G

Utah Olympic ParkBobsled, Luge, Skeleton,

Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined

Park CityAlpine GS, Snowboard GS

Snowboard Half Pipe

Deer ValleyAlpine Slalom, Aerials, Moguls

Soldier Hollow: Cross Country, Biathlon, Nordic Combined


Snowbasin- Downhill VenueSnowbasin- Downhill Venue

• Mt. Allen- SBB

• John Paul- SBW

• Shooting Star- SSS

• Base- SBE

SBE

SBB

SBB

SBB

SBW

SSS

SBE

• Ogden Peak- OGP

• Strawberry Top- SB2

OGP

SB2

• Wildcat-SWI

•MidBowl- SNI

• Strawberry Base- SB2

SB1

SNI

SWI

SBE


Park City- Snowboard/Grand SlalomPark City- Snowboard/Grand Slalom

•Base- PCB

•Eagle- PCS

•Summit- PCT

•Jupiter- PKC

•Golf Course- SNC

SNCPCBPCSPCTPKC


Deer Valley: Aerial/Slalom/MogulsDeer Valley: Aerial/Slalom/Moguls

•Burns- DVE

•Bald Eagle- DVB

•Bald Mtn- MBY

•Empire Peak- EMP

•Daly West- SNV

DVE

MBYDVB

EMP

SNV


Venue Stations

• Bear Upper- WBU

• Bob Lower- WBE

• Bob Upper- WBS

CLK

C99

Utah Olympic ParkUtah Olympic Park

WBSWBU WBE


Wind Variations on the Ski Jump SlopeWind Variations on the Ski Jump Slope


Wind Variations on the Ski Jump SlopeWind Variations on the Ski Jump Slope


Wind Variations on the Ski Jump SlopeWind Variations on the Ski Jump SlopeSeptember 28-29 2001

Top-bottom- Black; Blue; Green; Red

Dow

nslo

pe

Up

slop

e


Soldier Hollow- Cross Country/Biathlon VenueSoldier Hollow- Cross Country/Biathlon Venue

•Venue Stations

•Stadium- WMP

•Whale’s Tail- WM2

•West Slope- WMH

•Valley- WMG

WM2 WMP WMG

WMH

Stadium


Snow TemperatureSnow Temperature

Photo: Al Bello/ALLSPORT)


How cold will it feel at the venues?How cold will it feel at the venues?


Monitoring Weather Conditions during the OlympicsMonitoring Weather Conditions during the Olympics


Monitoring the Weather During Monitoring the Weather During the Olympicsthe Olympics 24/7 Monitoring of weather observations Special weather summaries– 12-h snowfall/precipitation totals from venues– Daily summary of weather at venues and

Olympic region

Weather history of the Olympics– Evaluation/validation of model guidance– Impact of weather upon the Games

John Horel, Jonathan Slemmer, Mike Splitt NOAA Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction, CWSU ZLC Local Microclimates of the Wasatch Front and Olympic.

Documents

olympic period

normal weather

eduolympicswind variations

olympicsmonitoring weather

consecutive hours of

strong fronts

ski jump slopeseptember

consecutive hours of

John Horel, Jonathan Slemmer*, Mike Splitt NOAA Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction,* CWSU ZLC Local Microclimates of the Wasatch Front and Olympic.

John Horel, Jonathan Slemmer, Mike Splitt NOAA Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction, CWSU ZLC Local Microclimates of the Wasatch Front and Olympic.