Weather Intelligence and Security Program

Trusted weather intelligence for risk-informed operational decisions

RAL’s Weather Intelligence and Security Program (WISP) delivers decision-ready weather intelligence that goes beyond model output to directly support operational and strategic choices across tactical and strategic timescales. WISP integrates advanced numerical weather prediction with post-processing AI and machine learning, rigorous verification, and in-depth diagnostics to quantify weather risk and uncertainty. By focusing on trustworthy, unbiased, and well-characterized information, WISP enables sponsors to understand current environmental conditions, anticipate future conditions, and confidently assess impacts on operations and associated costs. WISP provides end-to-end decision support for high-consequence applications, including national security systems, with approaches that translate naturally to other complex, weather-sensitive decision environments. Looking ahead, WISP will continue to advance scalable evaluation frameworks, AI-enabled diagnostics, and decision-focused metrics that strengthen confidence in weather intelligence as demands on operational systems continue to grow.

Focus Areas of Research

Benefits and Impacts

Read how we have met meteorological challenges with creative, practical solutions, and measurable benefits.

Building Low-Cost Weather Stations with USAID

With support from USAID, UCAR launched an initiative to print 3D weather stations that can fill observational gaps in developing countries. A single station takes about a week to print at a cost of $… more

Evaluating and Translating Climate Risk

CRMe is being used within the Climate Science Applications Program’s Regional Climate Science for Adaptation group to link into other national laboratory-level projects, such as the Department of… more

Evaluating the Risk for Dengue Fever

WHATCH’EM is now being leveraged for use in other model-based studies funded by NASA, NIH, and DTRA to develop an early warning system for dengue risk.

Evaluating Urban Heat Risk

Public health officials are now using this framework to reduce vulnerabilities.

FastEddy®: A GPU-Accelerated Microscale Model

Saves money, power and time with this LES modeling method. FastEddy® offers a powerful tool for microscale operational, educational, and more comprehensive research applications.

Forecasting Unhealthy Air Quality for New Delhi

The system helps decision-makers mitigate the risk of air pollution in Delhi and surrounding regions. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) uses these forecasts to implement and revoke a… more

Predicting Direction of Toxic Releases

This technology was successfully integrated into the US Department of Defense (DoD) emergency response modeling systems—HPAC (Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability) and JEM (Joint Effects Model… more

Predicting Fine-Scale Weather and Climate Processes

The AnEn outperform a power prediction based on the European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) ensemble wind predictions, a leading in operational forecasting at a fraction of the… more

Predicting Outbreak of Vector-Borne Diseases

The ability to predict when and where outbreaks will occur would help allocate limited public health resources. This research is leading to better placement of care givers and medicines to reduce… more

Providing High Resolution 0-12 Hour Forecasts

This data assimilation system was designed to take advantage of local weather observations and has been used to improve weather forecasts and historical climate analyses for the US Army Test Ranges,… more

Supporting the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC)

Knowledge of detailed predicted and actual weather conditions saves the Army millions of dollars annually. NCAR has since adapted the system and created derivative technologies for use by other… more