BLIPMAP Viewer
For experienced BLIPMAP users - requires javascript
Registration is now required for this viewer to work.
You can register at the
Registration Page;
further information is available at the
Registration Information webpage.
Created by Dr. John W. (Jack) Glendening, Meteorologist
BLIPMAPs predict thermal soaring conditions resulting from surface
heating of the Boundary Layer, by post-processing numerical weather
model predictions to provide parameters suited to the needs of soaring
pilots. Users of this viewer are assumed to be familiar with
BLIPMAP and its parameters, as described on the regional BLIPMAP
webpage or on the parameter information webpage.
TO CREATE A BLIPMAP IMAGE SEQUENCE:
(1) Select a day, a time, and a parameter
(2) Single click the "INSERT MAP" button
(3) Repeat for additional day/time/parameter(s)
(4) Single click "FRAME" buttons to move through images
Notes:
"INSERT MAP" button inserts selected map following the current image
"List LOAD" button loads lastest maps in saved image list (use to load favorite images)
"List SAVE" button creates new saved image list from present image list (uses cookie to save favorite image list)
"New Cache" button enables replacement of existing images in cache
"DELETE Bkd" button deletes the current image and displays the preceeding image
"DELETE Fwd" button deletes the current image and displays the following image
BLIPMAP NEWS (Latest: Apr 18, 2024)
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DrJack sez:
May 9:
I just found that the registration software does not detect
whether your browser has cookies enabled and will blithely tell you a
cookie has been "successfully sent" even when it was not successfully
received! The person who wrote that software has been informed
and is working on a fix, but in the meantime if your browser might
have that problem you can test it by clicking on the Cookie Tester to
get a message "Cookies are enabled" or "Cookies are disabled" (if you
get neither, then you must not have Javascript enabled!)
May 9:
I have implemented
"cookieless" access for registered users, though it does not have
the full flexibility of cookie-enabled access.
May 8: Updated the
Contributors webpage.
May 7:
I added more information on how to deal with possible problems to the
Registration
Information webpage, although I have had remarkably
few messages describing difficulties and so far 650 registered users
have been able to successfully view forecasts.
May 6:
I implemented a module to let registered viewers who have forgotten
their password or userID send that information to the email address
supplied when registering.
May 4:
For those who tried to access or "Login" this AM and received an
error, that problem has now been corrected. The long story is
provided here.
May 2:
Updated the
"Frequently Asked Questions" page (with answers).
May 1: As of today I have implemented a
system which registers users of DrJack forecasts. The
locations of the individual forecasts have therefore
changed! The primary reason for this change is to better
assess present forecast use, particularly how many forecast users
there are and the ratio of Sailplane to HangGlider to Paraglider
use. Registration is not required but is strongly
encouraged because it will help me better
determine the future course of forecast development (if you do not
register your forecast viewings will not be counted as a use by your
pilot group). Those those who have bookmarked individual
forecasts will need to create new bookmarks; also, the javascript
viewer no longer works without registration. In addition,
if you have created a website with "hot links" to the individual maps
you will need to contract me. Further information is
provided when you click on a forecast link, if you are not yet
registered, and at the Registration
Information webpage.
April 29:
Updated
BLIPMAP "to-do" projects list.
Apr 21:
THIS IS THE NEW WEBSITE ! If
you are reading this then you are at the new website! I have
constructed it to (hopefully) be identical to the previous one, but if
you find something that does not seem to work properly please let me
know as there are likely undiscovered bugs/deficiencies.
Apr 2: I got some
feedback on the April 1 BLIPMAPs!
Apr 2: Updated the
monthly BLIPMAP usage statistics.
Mar 30 The clouds are fixed!
I finally got things sorted out and am now running a
corrected program with BLIPMAP cloud predictions turned back on.
Bob Gibbons of Texas deserves thanks for having both the initiative to
critically evaluate the "Cumulus Cloudbase" prediction and the
knowledge to compare it to a simple surface-humidity LCL condensation
formula. As a check, the "EXPERIMENTAL" parameter in the BLIPs
will give the approximate formula prediction, which should be within
5% of the printed "Surface LCL" - after the validity of the latter has
been demonstrated I will remove the EXPERIMENTAL parameter
print. Those interested in additional details can read the
"Sfc-humidity LCL: short and long stories" posting on the Blipmap Forum.
Mar 24: Contributors:
I have added an option to send you, if interested, a daily email when
the first BLIPMAP is produced for your region (this is primarily
useful on those days when the "first of the day" BLIPMAP is delayed
and you may want to "filter" it to a mailbox separate from your main
mailbox). If you wish to be added to that list please let me
know.
Mar 22: BLIPMAP "help" page created:
A "first source for new BLIPMAP users" and summary of additional information is
available at
the
BLIPMAP Help webpage.
Mar 21:
Updated the
Info on First Available Times.
Mar 21: Parameter descriptions
changed I have rewritten the parameter descriptions on
this page and created a new linked page with "parameter details",
with some diagrams, at the "MoreInfo" link of each
parameter. Having a "parameter details" page provide a good
basis for further growth since info can be added to it which would be
too cumbersome to add to the basic parameter description. If you
think anything can be improved upon or added to or leaves a question
unanswered, please let me know and I will make changes.
Mar 21:
A Google Search specific to the drjack website has now been added (see bottom of this page)
Mar 15:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BLIPMAP !!!
March 16 is the first anniversary of the day on which the first nationwide
BLIPMAP forecasts became available. When did you first hear about them??
Mar 13:
More timely forecasts! Additional forecasts have just
been implemented, so the BLIPMAPs you get will now have the the most
timely information possible. Last summer, when the processing
was being done on my old, slow machine, I was forced to provide only
half the possible forecasts, i.e. even though FSL provides updated
forecasts every 3 hours I was skipping every other one. Some
users have noted that the forecasts sometimes change rapidly in the AM
when conditions are uncertain. Also, some have to leave their
houses (and their internet connection) hours in advance to drive to
the gliderport. These additional forecasts will help such users,
and all users, to have more timely forecasts than were previously
possible. I should note that this is being done only after
coordinating with Bill Hall, and he has agreed to this change which
requires more processing on his machine. There is always the
chance that this will later prove to be more of a burden than
anticipated and have to be reversed - Bill is doing everyone a great
service so this processing should not become bothersome to him.
Mar 7:
CA-NV Users:
Daily "WINDIP" forecasts of upper-air winds and a simple mt. wave
forecast are once again available at the WINDIP webpage.
Feb 28:
Updated
pilot flight experiences using BLIPMAPs.
Feb 28:
Added a "Rainfall and Soil Moisture" note to the
model prediction notes.
Feb 13:
I have created climatology plots from the 2002
forecasts, giving the monthly average of each parameter for
each time of day (when available). In addition, I have computed
statistics giving the average, standard deviation, minimum, and
maximum for all parameters for all regions. These plots and
statistics can be accessed via the
BLIPmap 2002 Climatology webpage.
Feb 5:
In response to the many requests received on the first BLIPMAP User Survey,
I have created a
discussion group for thermal soaring forecasts and meteorology and
I am asking that BLIPMAP users generally use that forum if they have a
question or comment, since it likely is also of interest to someone else
in the soaring community,
rather than simply sending an email to me directly
- although the latter
is of course appropriate if there is some comment you wish to keep private.
Feb 3:
Updated the webpage giving information on creating new
BLIP prediction locations nation-wide.
Note that there must
be a contribution to the BLIPMAP effort, of either money or time, to
create a new BLIP for your location.
Jan 28:
Activated two new parameters intended to help forecast the presence and
cloudbase of small puffy cumulus clouds that form in the BL.
As indicated in their description, there is a theoretical difficulty
with these parameters but I have had several reports that for some sites
the method is nevertheless effective so decided to include them and
let users evaluate how well these parameters work for their site.
Jan 27: I'm glad I was able to meet many BLIPMAP
users while at the SSA Convention in Dayton and at the Wright Aviation
Museum and appreciate being presented with an SSA Exceptional
Achievement Award there. I have placed
on-line the slides
presented in my talk at the 2003 SSA Convention.
Jan 17:
Summarized
results from the first BLIPMAP User Survey
are now available
Jan 1, 2003:
Congratulations to the first three awardees of the newly
created "Order of the BLIPMAP Hero": Milt Hare (who flies his ASH-25
out of Williams, CA), Bill Hall (who flies with the Greater
Boston Soaring Council), and John Whitney (who flies his ASW-20 at
Blairstown, N.J.). As a testimonial to the time and effort they
have voluntarily put into helping make BLIPMAP a product useful to pilots
across the country, they have been presented with a "BLIPMAP HERO"[tm]
award suitable for displaying on any T-shirt, sweat-shirt, or
undergarment of their choice! These awards are not available for purchase in
any store.
Let's have a hearty round of applause for our "heroes"!
Dec 29:
In response to user requests, to aid orientation with respect to the
smoothed model topography I have modified my plotting program so
placename IDs can be plotted on a BLIPMAP region. The first
such plot has been created for AZ (SouthWest region) based on data provided by
Gary Evans, so to see what one looks like you can view it
here.
There are currently (sparse) ID plots available for the CA-NV, NorthEast, SouthEast, OK-TX, NorthCentral, SouthCentral, and SouthWest regions: to view
your region's ID plot or if you are interested in adding IDs for
your region, see the
regional
orientation webpage.
Sept 23:
Who Uses BLIPMAPs?
Of the 1,021 people who responded to a 3 week poll,
80% were Sailplane PIlots,
15% were HangGlider Pilots,
4% were ParaGlider Pilots,
0.6% were Weather Enthusiasts,
0.5% were Weather Workers,
and 0.4% were None of the Above.
Based on SSA and USHGA membership numbers, equally random voting
from SailPlane/HangGlider/ParaGlider pilots would have given
respective percentages of roughly
50/25/25 - the difference between those percentages and the
actual results suggests to me that those who fly longer distances are
more likely to use BLIPMAPs.
Sept 2:
Remarkable convergence prediction!
Labor Day (today) was a remarkable day in the Sierras with many
long flights. I was particularly interested in reports of a very
long convergence line which moved eastward with time, since the
BLIPMAPs predicted the occurrence of just such a convergence!
Moreover, subsequence comparison to satellite photos confirms not only
that BLIPMAP prediction but also it's prediction of a second (unflown)
convergence line! I have created viewers to look at the hourly
development and movement of both the convergence line forecasts and
the satellite photos, with viewing instructions and a brief
description,
here.
Aug 18: THE FUTURE ??
I have begun experimenting with BLIPMAPs using the NWS 12km ETA model
instead of the FSL 20km RUC model. Advantages of the ETA are its
higher resolution, 12km instead of 20km, and it provides extended
forecasts out to 84 hours. Some results, for the "Current+2" and
"Current+3" days only, can be viewed here [Note: the ETA regional
areas differ from those of the RUC FSL model due to differing map
projections used - if you find a different region is needed, go to the
regional ETA webpage]. The
program is still under development and these forecasts are not
being updated daily, but these plots do illustrate what can be
done. At present, the accuracy of ETA vis-a-vis RUC is not known
and the accuracy of the longer-range forecasts is especially
unknown. Whether such products might become regular predictions
is uncertain, as each forecast requires downloading a half-gigabyte
file and there is a cost associated with that.
July 25: Added a link to an on-line version
of the July 2002 SOARING magazine
BLIPMAP article,
which is a good "first thing
to read" for potential BLIPMAP users.
Sep 17: For the CA-NV region, multiple times can be
viewed without javascript by using the Multitime
CA-NV BLIPMAP Index.
Processing remains stable. Forecast
availability varies from day to day.
I only look at the webpages and maps that I use personally or that I suspect might
contain an error. If you notice a consistent problem with either, please let
me know.
Heros:
Thanks to Bill Hall of the Greater Boston Soaring Council for hosting
the processing and to John Whitney (F9) for slaying the file-eating
dragon inhabiting the original viewer and adding the "ListSAVE/LOAD"
feature.
I also want to personally thank those whose support is listed on the
Contributors webpage.
Link to the regional BLIPMAP viewer for this region
Link to the latest BLIP
forecasts for individual locations
BLIPMAP Help webpage.