SAN FRANCISCO 64 52 68 / 30 0 0 SAN JOSE 67 53 67 / 30 0 0
National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Asheville, NC 828-271-4800 http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) Desert Research Institute 2215 Ratio Parkway Reno, NV 89512-1095 Phone: 775-674-7010 Fax: 775-674-7016 E-mail: wrcc@dri.edu
Many public and university libraries have collections of climatological information. There is also daily climate data in most local newspapers. back to questions
What is GMT, Zulu (Z), and UTC time? I often see "GMT, UTC, or Z" on weather maps, satellite photos or radar images, but I don't know what it means. GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time and UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time. GMT, Z and UTC refer to the same time, which is a standard used around the world by the military and other agencies. It can also be thought of as the time at the Prime Meridian, or zero degrees longitude. Greenwich is a borough of London that the Prime Meridian runs through. Hence the name Greenwich time. To convert this time to Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), subtract 7 hours. To convert to Pacific Standard Time (PST), subtract 8 hours. Here are a few examples: Convert 2030Z to PDT: 2030 - 7 hours = 1330 (1:30 pm PDT)
Convert 0000 GMT October 8, 1996 to PST: Note: 0000 GMT is equivalent to 2400 GMT 2400 - 8 hours = 1600 (4:00 pm PST October 7 , 1996) Remember: This would be midnight in England, so that's why it's October 8 in GMT and October 7 in PST.
Convert 0830 UTC to PDT: 0830 - 7 hours = 0130 (1:30 am PDT) back to questions
While reading a Forecast Discussion and I came upon words or terms I was unfamiliar with. Where can I go to find definitions for weather terms? Many meteorology terms are not easily defined. In fact, some are so complex, they require courses in meteorology and physics in order to fully understand them. However, a glossary exists which defines many of the terms used in forecast discussions. back to questions
The numbers following the "/" are the precipitation chances (Probability of Precipitation or PoPS, in NWS jargon) for the periods in the forecast. In this case, the SAN FRANCISCO has a 30 percent chance of measurable (at least .01 inch) precipitation today, and less than a 10 percent chance tonight and the next day.
In some cases there will be four numbers on either side of the "/". This occurs on our afternoon and evening forecasts. The periods correspond to tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night, and the following day. The four numbers on either side of the "/" correspond to those four periods. back to questions
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I want to learn more about weather. Is there a place for on-line learning? Here are some links for on-line weather learning: National Weather Service online weather school back to questions
It is scenically and practically very difficult to make site specific forecast more than 5 days in advance. back to questions
All tours of the National Weather Service Office must be scheduled in advance and are limited in size to 20 or less. Tours may have to be rescheduled at short notice if significant weather is possible during the scheduled tour time. If children wish to tour our office, we ask that they be accompanied by adults and be at the fifth grade level or above. Tours are usually scheduled Monday-Friday between the hours of 11:00 am and 12:30 pm. If you are interested in scheduling a tour, contact our Warning Coordination Meteorologist. If you send a request via email, please include:
You will be contacted as soon as possible. At that time we will provide you with directions to the office.
You may also arrange a tour by phone by calling, M-F, 8 am to 4 pm:
Webmaster US Dept of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service San Francisco/Monterey Bay Area Weather Forecast Office 21 Grace Hopper Ave, Stop 5 Monterey, CA 93943-5505 Tel: (831)-656-1725
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