CLIMATE SUMMARIES: YUCCA MOUNTAIN DOE METEOROLOGICAL MONITORING SITES

Modern climate values, recorded at the Department of Energy Yucca Mountain Meteorological Monitoring network of nine meteorological stations, were downloaded from 1440 Quality Assurance (QA)-qualified files. These individual files were imported into the Western Regional Climate Center QA-approved program, and products using these data are now available at http://www.ymp.dri.edu. The data begin as early as December 1985 at some stations and end in January 2002 at all stations. This program summarizes user-selected climate data products for air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, wind gusts, precipitation, solar radiation, barometric pressure, dew point, and wet bulb temperature. Daily summaries (listed by hour), monthly summaries with evaporation-transpiration data (listed by day), as well as additional atmospheric stability indicators such as vertical temperature difference and standard deviation of wind direction (Sigma A) are listed by hour. Wind rose graphs and tables compile wind speed and direction information into a tabular format and a graphical wind frequency histogram showing principle wind speeds and directions according to occurrence at the selected site. Hourly frequency distribution and histograms compile any parameter collected by the station into a frequency of occurrence table by hour of day. Time periods are user-selectable and include the ability to subset the data by time of day, month, and/or season. Metadata and site photographs are also posted. This program may be used to compile subsets of data and to extend climate summaries beyond the timeframes currently available. These summaries may be used to update input data to atmospheric dispersion models and weather climate summaries for engineering design and emergency planning models.