DCCLOUDRADAR

The NASA DC-8 was based at Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City between June 15, 1998 and June 30, 1998. There were 31 hours of total flight time, including a transit flight from the Dryden Flight Facility, California. The flights went over the Southern Great Plains Clouds and Radiation Testbed (SGP CART) site (36 37 ' N, 97 30 ' W) where ground-based remote sensors collected data along with the DC-8 instruments. Instrumentation on the DC-8 included the JPL/UMass 95 GHz Airborne Cloud Radar (ACR) and a nadir pointing PRT-5 IR thermometer. Ground based millimeter-wave cloud radars operating at 33 GHz, 95 GHz, 94 GHz and 35 GHz were deployed at the SGP CART site prior to the DC-8 arrival in Oklahoma City. In addition, the SGP CART site has numerous surface and remote sensing instruments continuously operating, including a 35 GHz cloud radar. Colorado State University also fielded a IR radiometer. 98-06-15 Transit flight from NASA Dryden to Oklahoma City 98-06-20 Anvil flight over CPRS and PSU radar at DOE SGP CART site. DC-8 engine stalled after first track and aircraft returned to tinker AFB. 98-06-21 Mid-level clouds over SGP CART site. 11 overpasses. 98-06-24 Chasing thunderstorms over Northeast Kansas. several N-S legs to East of convection. One E-W leg to south. Two N-S legs to west of convection where we overflew several small convective cells. Most legs have cirrus and precipitation. No Ground-based radar data. NEXRAD data is available from Topeka, KS and Hastings, NB. 98-06-26 PSU radar is down. No clouds anywhere in Oklahoma. UMass CPRS has been re-deployed to New Iberia, LA, which is near the Gulf Coast south of Lafayette. A tropical depression is moving north onto the coast. Flying east-west patterns over CPRS. 22 overpasses. All show thick cirrus and some precipitation. 98-06-27 Similar conditions as previous day. Flying N-S patterns parallel to the surface winds. Except for the first few passes this pattern overflies CPRS and has a straight and level portion over the gulf. Thick cirrus clouds. Some precipitation over land. Heavier stratiform precipitation over ocean. 16 passes.Data was also collected during transit to Dryden after the lines in LA were completed.