slv.meteorology.pcaps.get_pcap_events#

slv.meteorology.pcaps.get_pcap_events(time_range, threshold=4.04, min_periods=3, sounding_kwargs=None)[source]#

Determines PCAP events based on valley heat deficit from soundings.

Parameters:

  • time_range (tuple) – (start, end) timestamps to define the period for which to determine PCAP events.

  • threshold (float) – Valley heat deficit threshold to identify PCAP events. Default is 4.04 K from Whiteman (2014).

  • min_periods (int) – Minimum number of sounding periods that must exceed the threshold to define a PCAP event. Default is 3.

  • sounding_kwargs (dict) – Additional keyword arguments to pass to the get_soundings function.

Notes

If the environment variable SLV_USER_DATA_DIR is set, events are cached per (threshold, min_periods): $SLV_USER_DATA_DIR/pcap_events.csv for the defaults, pcap_events_t<threshold>_m<min_periods>.csv otherwise. A missing cache file is built from the full sounding record, and every cached event is returned whatever the time_range. Without the cache, or with sounding_kwargs, events are determined from the soundings in time_range only.