Method and apparatus for short-term prediction of convective weather

US7062066B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · US

Inventors

• Marilyn Wolfson · Acton, US
• Richard J. Johnson · Colville, US
• Barbara Forman · Framingham, US
• William Dupree · Westborough, US
• Kim E. Theriault · Pelham, US
• Robert Boldi · Sudbury, US
• Carol Wilson · Acton, US
• Robert Hallowell · Deptford, US
• Richard L. Delanoy · Merrimack, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 11, 2002
• Grant date: Jun 13, 2006
• Expiry date: Feb 13, 2024

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02A90/10
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method and apparatus for forecasting the likely occurrence of convective weather events, such as thunderstorms. An image filter is used to identify areas of interest within a meteorological image that are likely to contain convective weather. The image filter and an image difference processor identify sub-image regions within the meteorological image that are likely to experience a growth and/or decay of weather events. The classification filter classifies sub-image regions within the meteorological image into a number of predetermined storm categories. The meteorological images are filtered using matched filters, features within the filtered images are tracked, and the resulting track vectors are combined according to the storm classification. The meteorological image, interest image, growth/decay image, classification image, and combined vectors are processed to produce the short-term forecast.