Numerical Weather Prediction

NWP

  • About
  • Contacts

Numerical weather prediction in RAL encompasses the optimization of community models to meet specialized operational needs anywhere in the world, their use to increase our knowledge of atmospheric processes, and the development of improved model representations of physical processes.  Areas of specialization include land-surface modeling; urban-canopy modeling; cloud microphysics parameterizations; simulation of all aspects of the hydrologic cycle; downscaling of current and future climates; operational mesoscale prediction; the development of methods for the prediction of aviation-impact variables such as turbulence, wind shear, in-flight icing, and cloud-ceiling and visibility; and the simulation of building-aware winds with large-eddy-simulation models.

RAL has tested and deployed operational models for dozens of locations worldwide, on virtually every continent, for the support of Olympic Games, meteorological field programs, and military operations.  In addition, there is an emphasis on the coupling of atmospheric models with specialized-application models.  The latter models calculate the transport and diffusion of plumes of hazardous material, the spread of weather-dependent human and agricultural infectious diseases, and the propagation of sound and electromagnetic waves.  There is also a focus on the verification of operational products using metrics that relate to the value of forecasts to specific users.  Lastly, the Joint Numerical Testbed is a collaborative facility within RAL, whose goal is to test numerical weather prediction systems in order to provide quantitative performance information to decision makers and model developers.  Included within this are the Developmental Testbed Center, the Data Assimilation Testbed Center, the Tropical Cyclone Modeling Testbed, and the Applied Statistics and Verification Research project.

Note: full phone: 303 - 497 - XXXX | email addresses end in "@ucar.edu"

Primary Contacts

  • SWERDLIN, Scott | NSAP DIRECTOR | ph: 8378 | email: swerdlin
  • BETANCOURT, Terri: | NSAP DEPUTY DIRECTOR | ph: 8489 | email: terrib
  • WARNER, Tom | NSAP DEPUTY DIRECTOR | ph: 8411 | email: warner