TopMeteo Lee Waves for Central Europe

The lee waves – just in time for the 2022 season. For Central Europe and in various altitude levels.

Short video on how to use the waves on the website:

Lee Waves & Slope Wind

The lee wave maps are available in four forecast altitudes.

  • FL70
  • FL120
  • FL170
  • FL250

The slope wind is calculated at 300 m above ground.

Some facts

The large-scale vertical velocity in the model is shown. The forecast data originate thankfully from the DWD and are further processed, e.g. temporally filtered, so that mainly stationary structures become visible. Vertical movements in showers or fronts are mostly suppressed. The values also represent the maximum up- and down drafts in a broader altitude band, e.g. FL70 stands for the band 1500-3000 m, FL120 for 3000-4500 m and so on.

Slope winds shows the vertical movement close to the model orography. We have chosen about 300 m above ground as altitude. The model orography is of course still quite coarse compared to the real orography.

Wind arrows show direction and speed. Below 10 kt they are hidden.

Maps are prepared for areas which are covered to a large extent by the model, e.g. Alps, Germany, Czech Republic.

Forecasts are recalculated every 3 hours for 48 hours in advance. Start dates are 00 UTC, 03 UTC, … etc. Approx. 2-3 hours later the maps are available. Maps of the 09 UTC run, for example, are finished around 11-12 o’clock UTC.

Forecast maps & Flight planning

The forecast maps contain the classic TopMeteo maps as static images.

It is much more exciting to look at the topographical presentation in the flight planning tool, where you can identify each valley.

Model area

The raw data for the wave forecasts come from the German Weather Service (DWD).

A flight from 22.02.2022

The flight of Thomas Puthod (FR) in the OLC shows nicely how the flight path matches the forecast very well.