Identification

Title

Systematic comparison of convection-allowing models during the 2017 NOAA HWT Spring Forecasting Experiment

Abstract

The 2016-18 NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Spring Forecasting Experiments (SFE) featured the Community Leveraged Unified Ensemble (CLUE), a coordinated convection-allowing model (CAM) ensemble framework designed to provide empirical guidance for development of operational CAM systems. The 2017 CLUE included 81 members that all used 3-km horizontal grid spacing over the CONUS, enabling direct comparison of forecasts generated using different dynamical cores, physics schemes, and initialization procedures. This study uses forecasts from several of the 2017 CLUE members and one operational model to evaluate and compare CAM representation and next-day prediction of thunderstorms. The analysis utilizes existing techniques and novel, object-based techniques that distill important information about modeled and observed storms from many cases. The National Severe Storms Laboratory Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor product suite is used to verify model forecasts and climatologies of observed variables. Unobserved model fields are also examined to further illuminate important intermodel differences in storms and near-storm environments. No single model performed better than the others in all respects. However, there were many systematic intermodel and intercore differences in specific forecast metrics and model fields. Some of these differences can be confidently attributed to particular differences in model design. Model intercomparison studies similar to the one presented here are important to better understand the impacts of model and ensemble configurations on storm forecasts and to help optimize future operational CAM systems.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d70v8gxp

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2019-10-01T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact