Marfa Gliders NAM BLIPMAP SouthWest Viewer
BLIPMAP = Boundary Layer Information Prediction MAP
Created by Dr. John W. (Jack) Glendening,  Meteorologist  
For experienced BLIPMAP users - requires javascript  
Registration (free) and a valid registration cookie are necessary for this viewer to work
"Registered-only" users can view "Thermal Updraft Velocity", "Buoyancy/Shear Ratio", and all "Previous Day" BLIPMAPs.  Subscribers can view all BLIPMAPs.  To register use the New Registration Page or see Registration Information.  Registered users can subscribe at Subscription Page ; for further info, see Subscription Information.  Registered/Subscribed users can Logon (get a new cookie) here or check their registration cookie status here
For additional on-line information:  BLIPMAP HELP page

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 SW 21Z BLIPMAP webpage and on the parameter information webpageBASIC thermal forecast parameters gives a short list of the parameters most important for thermal soaring. 



Current Day:        The "current day" changes shortly after 2Z   Forecast Availabily



DrJack Forum:
 Latest: Tue May 13 20:40 "Re: northern minnesota" [DrJack]


DrJack sez:   (Latest 5 news items)
Dec 5:  Updated the monthly BLIPMAP usage statistics.
Aug 31:  DrJack again On Hold:  Again my plane is broken and I am not flying, and again I dislike being reminded of that fact by doing work involving soaring.  So for the indefinite future I will be doing only the minimum necessary to keep BLIPMAPs operating, i.e. will not be doing any development, responding to Forum questions, etc., etc..  
Aug 25:  Trigger temperature added to RUC miniBLIPSPOT:   As a result of a Forum thread question I have added estimates of thermal "trigger" times and temperatures to the RUC miniBLIPSPOT popups, obtained by clicking on a map location in the javascript viewers.  Note that this depends upon the choice of a "thermal top" parameter and uses linear interpolation over a 3 hour span, so the results are only roughly approximate.
July 9:  Firefox 2 warning:   Those who use the Firefox browser have likely gotten a popup indicating that a new Version 2 is now available and requesting permission to "upgrade" their current version.   I suggest that not be done as there has been occurrences of Version 2 not properly storing/reading cookies, both at my site and others, whereupon deletion of the existing cookie and download of a new one is required to again get things working.  Users already using Version 2 should be on the lookout for cookie corruption problems. 
View ALL recent news items here
 

REGISTRATION and SUBSCRIPTION:
Freely available forecasts are:  "Thermal Updraft Velocity" BLIPMAPs, "Buoyancy/Shear Ratio" BLIPMAPs, all "Previous Day" BLIPMAPs, and all BLIPSPOTs.  Other forecasts require a yearly subscription fee of $13 for either NAM or RUC forecasts and $20 for both.  Registration (free) is needed for direct (no-nag-screen) forecast access and to obtain a subscription.  New users can Register here.  Currently registered/subscribed users can Logon (get new cookie) here or view registration (cookie) status here.  More info is available at the Registration Information and Subscription Information webpages. 
EMAIL POLICY: 
There are many advantages to having one person's knowledge be shared and available to others, so I expect most BLIPMAP issues to be handled through the DrJack Forum and ask those who have a question or problem or experience which could be of interest to others to post it there.  This allows others to comment on the matter if they have any personal experience and also allows any response I make to be read by others.  If you send me an email, I will respond personally only if it's nature is not appropriate for such posting - in other cases I will simply reply with a request to post to the forum. 
FEEDBACK REQUEST: 
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 post a message on the DrJack Forum.
T-SHIRTS:
Upon request, I've made available to others the T-shirts I created for myself.

Medal Heros: Thanks 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.

Bookmark for this region's main viewer panel
Link to the SW 21Z NAM BLIPMAP webpage
Link to the BLIPMAP Archive Viewer
Link to the BLIPMAP HELP webpage - for additional on-line information.