Vinnie’s Conrad and Comet Module: Convective Storm Matrix

 

There are several optional features that do not come with some versions of Bufkit such as Bufget,  Lake Effect Snow and the Comet Module or Conrad Convective Storm Matrix. This tutorial shows you how to install the Comet module and configure Bufkit to recognize it and generally how to operate it.

 

I will not be explaining how to use the module to forecast. The Comet software is capable of integration with Bufkit but also stands alone and has its own tutorials. I went through them and they were extremely informative.

The module is aimed at determining thunderstorm cell development. Will we have pulse storms (ordinary cells), multiple cell storms (MCS) or Supercells (SC)? The software also features 3D rendering of the cloud environment.

 

What you get with the Comet Module:

3D Rendering and Storm Growth animations:

 

Detailed Summary of the Storm’s Status and what will Happen 

The summary depends on the the the storm type selected (in the image below P2). The summary, the 3D cloud renderings and Low (.4km) and High (4km) storm views are accessible right from within Bufkit which will actually tell you the storm type. These videos and summaries will open in a browser window when clicked. See picture below for an example of the summary (this was from within the comet module):

 

 

Installation:

The Bufkit Warehouse hosts the Comet Module so you can download it here. I also decided to keep a copy on my site just in case that one goes down or ever changes. Download it from here if the above link does not work. It is around 50mb. if you have some free time visit the official Comet Site. It has a lot of great training programs for Meteorologist students and weather enthusiasts. I suppose you can download the module from them as well. You have to register (its free and allows you to download many more programs (e.g. Skew-T mastery) and tutorials and take quizzes on them.

You must install it to your C drive. You should have a “Comet” folder in your C: Drive:

You have to go into windows explorer and navigate to the Bufkit folder

Open the Bufkit.cfg file in a text editor. (I highlighted it below. Yours might look a bit different since windows will not initially know what program to open it with. Choose notepad from the list as I did.

 

Make sure Storm animation directory is C:   (I highlighted the area for convenience )

Mine was set a C and it did not work until I added the colon (:) to it.

 

Now you can save it (click File  then Save) and open Bufkit and have fully functional conrad tab:

 

 

Now you can view 3D videos of the storm (Clouds tab) read the summary of what the Cell will do.  The features will open in a new window (Internet Explorer for me) but if nothing was going on (e.g. low cape) the summary window and other tabs will not open when I click on them.

 

A1 - E1 do not open and Neither do A3-E3. Anything in the chart below on the left should open up when clicked I believe.

 

 

I recommend spending thirty minutes to an hour familiarizing yourself with the comet module. The tutorials were easy to follow and very useful. since it gives us a text summary of what it thinks is going on that is all you really need but if you want to have an edge you should know why and look for potential biases in the setup.

 

Vincent Sapone