SBU Ceilometers IMPACTS

The SBU Ceilometers IMPACTS dataset includes ceilometer cloud height measurements collected by the Vaisala CL51, Vaisala CT25K, and Lufft Ceilometer CHM 15k ceilometers operated by the State University of New York (SUNY) Stony Brook University. These data were collected during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign, a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic coast. IMPACTS aimed to (1) Provide observations critical to understanding the mechanisms of snowband formation, organization, and evolution; (2) Examine how the microphysical characteristics and likely growth mechanisms of snow particles vary across snowbands; and (3) Improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling to significantly advance prediction capabilities. The ceilometer dataset files are available from January 1, 2020, through March 2, 2023, in netCDF-3 and netCDF-4 formats.