Weather Research and Forecasting Model: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:07, 16 May 2014

Revision as of 01:51, 24 June 2014

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[[File:Typhoon Mawar 2005 computer simulation thumbnail.gif|right|thumb|250px|WRF model output showing simulated radar reflectivity (dBZ) for [[2005 Pacific typhoon season#Typhoon Mawar|Typhoon Mawar]] at 3.3-km (2.1-mi) grid spacing. Time period is from 0000 UTC 22 August 2005 to 0000 UTC 24 August 2005.]]

The '''Weather Research and Forecasting''' ('''WRF''') Model<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wrf-model.org | title=WRF Model site}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɔr|f}} is a [[numerical weather prediction]] (NWP) system designed to serve both atmospheric research and operational forecasting needs. NWP refers to the simulation and prediction of the atmosphere with a computer model, and WRF is a set of software for this. WRF features two dynamical (computational) cores (or ''solvers''), a [[data assimilation]] system, and a software architecture allowing for parallel computation and system extensibility. The model serves a wide range of meteorological applications across scales ranging from meters to thousands of kilometers.

The effort to develop WRF began in the latter part of the 1990s and was a collaborative partnership principally among the [[National Center for Atmospheric Research]] (NCAR), the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (represented by the [[National Centers for Environmental Prediction]] (NCEP) and the (then) Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL)), the [[Air Force Weather Agency]] (AFWA), the [[Naval Research Laboratory]] (NRL), the [[University of Oklahoma]] (OU), and the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA).<ref name="NCAR news release">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/wrf.shtml |publisher=NCAR |title=Weather Forecast Accuracy Gets Boost with New Computer Model |date=25 August 2006 |accessdate=27 June 2010 }}</ref> The bulk of the work on the model has been performed or supported by NCAR, NOAA, and AFWA.

WRF allows researchers the ability to produce simulations reflecting either real data (observations, analyses) or idealized atmospheric conditions. WRF provides operational forecasting a flexible and robust platform, while offering advances in physics, numerics, and data assimilation contributed by the many research community developers. WRF is currently in operational use at NCEP and other forecasting centers internationally. WRF has grown to have a large worldwide community of users (over 23,000 registered users in over 150 countries), and workshops and tutorials are held each year at NCAR. WRF is used extensively for research and real-time forecasting throughout the world.

WRF offers two dynamical solvers for its computation of the atmospheric governing equations, and the variants of the model are known as WRF-ARW (Advanced Research WRF) and WRF-NMM (Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Model). The Advanced Research WRF (ARW) is supported to the community by the NCAR Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division. The WRF-NMM solver variant was based on the Eta Model, and later Nonhydrostatic MesocaleMesoscale Model, developed at NCEP. The WRF-NMM (NMM) is supported to the community by the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC).

A version of WRF-NMM tailored for hurricane forecasting, [[Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting model|HWRF]] (Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting), became operational in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2885.htm |publisher=NOAA News Online |title=New Advanced Hurricane Model Aids NOAA Forecasters |date=27 June 2007 |accessdate=27 June 2010 }}</ref>

==References==

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Weather Research and Forecasting Model}}

[[Category:Numerical weather and climate models]]

[[Category:Software]]