Geopotential height at the 500 hPa pressure level

Description

This visualization displays geopotential height at the 500 hPa pressure level over Europe and the North Atlantic region. The map shows atmospheric circulation patterns critical for weather forecasting, with contour lines representing equal geopotential heights at 60-meter intervals. The data represents a 12-hour forecast from the December 3, 2025 12Z model run. Higher geopotential heights typically indicate ridges (high pressure systems) while lower heights indicate troughs (low pressure systems). The visualization uses Gaussian smoothing (sigma=1.0) to reduce noise and highlight large-scale atmospheric patterns. The geographic extent (30-72°N, -25 to 45°E) covers most of Europe and the eastern North Atlantic, making it ideal for analyzing mid-latitude weather systems.

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