Abstract:
The identification, tracking and earlywarning system for thunderstorm
cloud clusters based on Doppler weather radar measurements is one of the most i
mportant weather prediction techniques in weather nowcasting service. A newly de
veloped automatic tracking and recognition system for thunderstorm cloudcluste
rs (TRACER) presented in this study is based on pattern recognitions of cloudc
lusters to identify and topoloze their borderlines to establish their lifecycles
, and then to make shortterm predictions of their movements. This system incl
udes three primary
components: (1) identification of thunderstorm cloud clusters based on their bor
derlines; (2) establishment of the ancestry of each thunderstorm
cloud cluster using six distinct indices: quad tree, overlap, size, external re
ctangle covering the cloud, pattern similarity, partial pattern similarity; and
(3) linear extrapolation prediction of their propagation, speed, size, maximum e
cho center and status (e.g., strengthening or weakening, and expending or shrink
ing). Preliminary results demonstrate that this system can accurately identify
and predict thunderstorm cloud clusters. In cooperated with a GIS system, TRACE
R can display the geolocation, trajectory, evolution of any targeted cloud clu
ster and its predicted status. In addition, this system could be used to quanti
tatively analyze and evaluate the predictions of any cloud clusters.