Decoding Guide
Freezing Level Analysis
Description:
The Freezing Level Analysis depicts freezing level at individual stations,
as well as general contours.
Issuance:
0000 and 1200 UTC
Data Sources:
Upper air analysis
Depiction:
Solid white lines are contours of the lowest freezing level and are drawn
for 4,000 foot intervals and labeled in hundreds of feet MSL. When a station
reports more than one crossing of the 32 degree isotherm, the lowest crossing
is used in the analysis. A dashed line represents the 32 degree isotherm
at the surface and will outline an area of stations reports "BF"
(below freezing).
Example:
Freezing levels for individual stations are depicted in green. The following
examples show how to decode the observations.
Examples:
Plotted |
Interpretation |
 |
Entire observation is below freezing |
 |
Freezing Level is at 2,800 feet; Temperatures below freezing above 2,800 feet. |
 |
Freezing level at 12,000 feet; Temperatures above 12,000 feet are below freezing. |
 |
Temperatures are below freezing from the surface to 5,100 feet; above freezing from 5,100 to 11,000 feet and below freezing above 11,000 feet. |
 |
Lowest freezing level is at 300 feet; below freezing from 300 feet to 3,400 feet; above freezing from 3,400 to 9,000 feet and below freezing above 9,000 feet. (See illustration below) |
 |
Data is missing. |
Plotted Value |
Interpretation |
 |
 |