An Observational and Model Characterization of Vertical Structure of Wind Fields over Eastern United States: A Case Study of Sterling, Virginia

Figure 1

Taylor diagram is displayed in polar coordinate for pattern comparison between reference and other runs in terms of correlation, standard deviation (SD), and root mean square error (RMSE) for (a) zonal wind and (b) meridional wind. SD ratio is the standard deviation of each model run to that of the radiosonde observation taken as a reference. SD ratio is the radial distance from the origin; the RMSE is the distance to the reference point; the azimuthal position gives the correlation coefficient. The colored symbols represent monthly data used for each run from 1979 to 2005 (annual, black plus; December, January, and February (DJF), blue diamond; March, April, and May (MAM), green upward triangle; June, July, and August (JJA), red circle; September, October, and November (SON), magenta downward triangle). Open (filled) symbols represent positive (negative) correlations between each ensemble member and radiosonde observation (black filled circle).

(a)

(b)