bufkit

Vinnie’s Quick Bufkit Tutorial I

Tutorial I: How to Install Bufkit and Obtain Recent Profiles for your Region

Bufkit Tutorial II: Forecasting Convective Event (tstorms) using Bufkit’s Thermodynamic Indices

Tutorial III: Forecasting Snowfall and QPF using Bufkit’s Snow Growth and Snow Ratio Tools

Tutorial IV: Conrad and Comet Module: Installing and Using the Convective Storm Matrix

[Introduction -- What is Bufkit?]

Weather Software developed by the NWS. Features a Skew-T with a variety of features and an overview mode. The GFS and NAM Bufkit profiles update 4 times a day (0, 6, 12 & 18z) with a ~2 hour lag behind the newest model runs. The semi-lateness and lack of POPs are the only two deficiencies of Bufkit that I am aware of. This tutorial will not teach you the basics of meteorology. It assumes that you can a) read thermodynamic diagrams as Bufkit provides us with a a great Skew-T, b) understand basic weather forecasting terms such as CAPE, Lifted Index, LCL, LFC, Omega, etc. I will show you how to install Bufkit and retrieve GFS, NAM and RUC profiles for your particular region.

[Garbage in, Garbage Out]

Bufkit is weather software used to interpret model outputs. Bufkit is not a model itself. It allows us to very finely see what a given model (GFS, NAM or RUC) is forecasting for a particular region at all levels of the atmosphere. This is far more helpful than merely looking at broad patterns of colors on various meteorological maps found online. But if the GFS is off by 5 degrees on tomorrow’s surface temperature then Bufkit’s display of the GFS model will also be off by the same amount. Garbage in = Garbage out!

[1] Finding and Installing Bufkit

http://wdtb.noaa.gov/tools/BUFKIT/index.html

•Go to that NWS Bufkit Link and make sure it says Sept 2008.
•Download one of the two Bufkit versions (DLAC or AWWT).
•I will be using DLAC for this tutorial but either will work and AWWT comes with Bufget.
•Unzip the folder and Install the Bufkit program just as you would any other program.
•Navigate to your Bufkit program (Start / Programs / Bufkit) and open it.
•If it asks what program you would like to open it with you need tlc/tk software.
•I needed this on my windows laptop. Download it at the following link (a large file IIRC).
•http://www.tcl.tk/ (though this might have been for bufget, not bufkit)
•Once you open Bufkit properly you will get a screen like this:

[2] Retrieving Profiles

Go to one of the following three links:

http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/bufkit/prof.html

http://www.meteo.psu.edu/bufkit/

http://www.meteor.iastate.edu/~ckarsten/bufkit/data/index.html

•Find the Station you want and right click on it and save the file to your computer.
•Left Clicking it will open it as text in your browser.
•Save it anywhere you like but I recommend the Bufkit Data folder (see below).
•PSU site is recommended as its a map and tells you what it new in the left frame.
•The PSU site does not work on all wifi networks due to security issues, however.
•If Windows tries to make it a text file make sure it is saved as a .buf or .bufm file.
•Bufkit will crash when trying to open a text file.

[3] Using Bufkit

•To open your profile click on the model you want on the left. (NAM, GFS or RUC)
•Then click the drop down box towards the right and select your station.
•This only works if the profiles are installed in your Bufkit / Data folder.

•Alternative method is to click the “Select” button to the right of drop down box.
•This will change the contents of the big box left of your skew-T diagram.
•In there click the “Archive Button”. This opens up a windows dialogue box.
•By default it will be in /Programs/Bufkit/Data/Archive folder.
•Navigate to Data folder or wherever you keep your profiles and select one.

See the picture below if you are having difficulties with any of these steps:

Now that your profile is open you can do a number of things:

•Use the scroll bar to scroll through different times on the skew-T diagram.
•Click the Indices button near the top to see things such as Cape, LI, Helicity, etc.
•Other tabs on the top are useful as well. You can see Fog likelihood, lapse rates, etc.
•Click Control or Convection tabs near the bottom to plot different things on the skewT
•You can plot Clouds, Inversions, Cape, CCL LCL, LFC, etc.
•Left Clicking on the SkewT zooms in. Right clicking zooms out.
•Spend some time looking at all the different control boxes, buttons and settings.
•Lake Effect and Conrad require additional software installations to function.

Using the Overview Panel

•This is my favorite feature. Click the button on the top right called “Overview”.
•It will look messy because Relative Humidity is Plotted. Click it to remove it.
•There are 8 Panels that allow for material to be plotted.
•Realize the the overview time starts and goes from right to left.
•For practice Click temperature in the Contour Button. It plots temperature.
•Use Bufkit to plot whatever you like. You can even change the contour interval.
•On the bottom left you can change the hours the overview displays.
•The bottom right toggle between km and mb for height (when something is plotted).
•Right and Left Clicking on the scales (on the sides on y axis) zooms in and out
•Refer to the picture below for help with the Overview Panel:

[4] Forecasting Tips

• Bufkit’s forecasting usefulness is obvious. We are given the potential for animated Skew-T diagrams for the entire nation. I’ve only been able to find them for the Eastern US at PSU.
• It plots things such as CAPE, Lifted Index, Helicity, Hail Data, omega, etc.
• What I do when I open Bufkit depends on the time of the year. Am I looking at a wintry system or am I forecasting Spring and Summer thunderstorms? In the latter case I am looking at the SkewT more and CAPE, LI, SSI and Helicity values.

To learn specific techniques see the next set of tutorials (link up top).

For now this should suffice on using Bufkit.....I’ll post more as time permits...

Vinnie