Gedday,

 Following on from the theme of last Friday's discussion, there are some interesting differences in the starting analysis for the current run of the various models.

 On my web-page, I have put up a set of starting fields for the  current  12 Z run.  If you look at the Southern Ocean, south of Australia, the manual analysis has a 952 hPa low pressure system.  The starting field for the EC model has about a 959 system,  UK a 957 hPa low, US a 960 low;.  The starting analysis for GASP on the other hand doesn't even have a closed low in that location.

I realise the starting analysis for GASP will be different to the manual analysis; and that the starting fields are the end product of a complicated data assimilation procedure.  Still, the difference between GASP and the manual analysis (which more or less agrees with the anals of the overseas models) indicates there is something to be looked at in our system.

Can any of our operational analysis people speak to this analysis difference?

Regards

John McBride