WEATHER FORECASTS FOR SALT AT THE SAAO (SUTHERLAND)
WEATHER FORECASTS FOR SALT AT THE SAAO (SUTHERLAND)
This page provides a detailed forecast of free-air and surface temperatures at sunset and for selected times directly after sunset. The intention is that this information will be used to determine thermal controls for the SALT dome during the day so that the telescope is in thermal equilibrium with the environment at dome-open time.
There are five columns of data on the sunset temperatures page as follows:
| Col.1 | Date (yyyy-mm-dd) | |
| Col.2 | Time (hh:mm) (SAST) | |
| Col.3 | Type (sunset, sunset + 1hr, sunset + 2hrs, sunset + 3hrs, sun 6, 12 and 18 degrees below horizon, respectively) | |
| Col.4 | Temperature (free-air) (ºC) | |
| Col.5 | Surface Temperature (~ 15m) (ºC) |
The initial forecast for these parameters is made using the Eta model data from the SAWS (typically at 09:31 SAST) using data from the primary Forecast (0-48 hours). Once the maximum temperature for the day is reached (typically between 14:00 (winter) 16:00 (summer) SAST) the forecast is updated using surface observations from Sutherland. Updates are performed every 20 minutes at 00:12 00:32 and 00:52 minutes past the hour.