Value Added Weather Forecasts (VAWF)

An open-source visualization platform extracting actionable atmospheric features beyond raw weather variables

Weather Forecasting
Feature Extraction
Atmospheric Rivers
Jet Streams
Python

Live Platform

Open Fullscreen VAWF App

Project Snapshot

  • Core Focus: Advanced Synoptic & Mesoscale Diagnostics
  • Target Features: Atmospheric Rivers, Jet Streams, Cyclones
  • Input Feeds: Global NWP Forecast Datasets
  • Access: Open-Source Interactive Platform

Launch App Repository

Overview

Traditional weather portals primarily display raw surface variables like temperature, relative humidity, and 24-hour precipitation accumulation. While informative, these raw fields often obscure the broader synoptic drivers powering severe weather events.

The Value Added Weather Forecasts (VAWF) platform bridges this gap by automatically detecting, isolating, and visualizing high-order dynamical features directly from numerical weather prediction (NWP) model outputs.

Key Atmospheric Features Tracked

Feature Diagnostic Focus Practical Significance
Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) Integrated Vapor Transport (IVT) corridors Extreme precipitation & flood risk assessment
Jet Streams Upper-level velocity fields (250 hPa isotachs) Steering dynamics & synoptic pattern evolution
Ongoing Cyclones Vorticity centers & surface pressure minima Tracking storm tracks & severe weather potential
Precipitation Anomalies Departure from historical climatology Early warning for extreme regional rainfall

Operational Workflow

1. Forecast Data Ingestion Automated pipelines fetch daily numerical forecast feeds (ECMWF / GFS) across multi-level atmospheric variables.

2. Feature Extraction Applies geometric and thresholding algorithms to extract distinct phenomena (e.g., IVT moisture plumes, jet axes).

3. Value-Added Layering Synthesizes complex 3D fields into clean vector-overlay layers for seamless multi-feature comparison.

4. Automated Rendering Generates lightweight HTML/JS web maps updated on schedule for rapid web-based analysis.

WarningResearch & Educational Disclaimer

Value Added Weather Forecasts (VAWF) is an open-source academic research prototype developed by Dr. Arjun Babu Nellikkattil. It is not an official operational safety dashboard. Please rely on official government entities (e.g., NOAA NWS, ECMWF, or national meteorological offices) for official weather advisories and emergency warnings.