Modeling
Each card on this page represents a model used or developed by the SPoRT program. The model on a green card, marked as "Transitioned Product," is being used by at least one National Weather Service Forecast Office. Models on blue cards, marked as "Research," are still in development, or exist mainly for academic purposes. For more background on a model, click the link at the bottom right of the card.
For more information on the WRF model, see the WRF Overview at the bottom of this page.
RESEARCH
AIRS Profile Assimilation
Assimilation of AIRS Profiles into WRF using WRF-Var.
RESEARCH
Land/Atmosphere Interactions
Use of the NASA LIS to improve land surface initialization for mesoscale WRF forecasts.
RESEARCH
WRF Local Forecasts with MODIS SSTs
Use of MODIS SSTs to improve local WRF forecasts in coastal zones.
TRANSITIONED PRODUCT
NSSL Operational WRF
Real-time mesoscale WRF model runs generated by NSSL to support operational forecasting.
RESEARCH
AIRS Radiance Assimilation
Assimilation of AIRS Radiances into WRF using GSI.
RESEARCH
Lightning Threat Forecasting
Short-term (0-12 h) forecast maps of lightning flash rate density.
RESEARCH
WRF Microphysics Adjustments with CloudSat
Use of CloudSat data to validate and tune cloud parameterizations within WRF model.
WRF Overview
The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is a next-generation mesoscale numerical weather prediction system designed to serve operational forecasting, atmospheric research, parameterization research, and coupled-model applications. All of these types of activities are ongoing at the SPoRT Center (see above). The WRF model has two dynamic cores: the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) and Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Model (NMM). The system is designed to be portable, efficient, and available for parallel computing platforms. Applications with scales ranging from meters to thousands of kilometers are supported, and the system allows a user to easily run nested grids for high-resolution forecasting. Additionally, WRF contains multiple physical parameterization options that can be selected depending on the application, grid resolution, and even the weather of the day.
For more information on the WRF model, visit The Weather Research & Forecasting Model.
