This paper is the first detailed report of the generation in the Australian region of cloud-drift wind vectors using hourly high resolution facsimile (HR-FAX) and half-hourly stretched-visible and infrared spin-scan radiometer (S-VISSR) images from the Japanese Geostationary Meteorological Satellites, GMS-3 and GMS-4. It describes the techniques used in the wind calculation, in particular for height assignment and quality control. It also records the accuracy of the vectors, with appropriate qualification and illustrates the impact of these data on regional numerical analysis and prediction by use of examples. These locally generated high resolution wind data are now being assimilated in real time into a test version of the operational regional forecast system. Evidence is presented from this assimilation experiment to indicate that they have the potential to modify the operational analysis in a manner which benefits numerical weather prediction.
Marshall et al. (Wed,) studied this question.