Management of High Performance Computing (HPC) Resources within the Weather Program Office’s Supplemental Appropriations Program to Improve Predictions of Extreme Weather Events

Extreme weather including floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and heavy precipitation has massive societal and economic impacts on the United States. As extreme weather events have become more costly, frequent, and devastating, it is critical that resources are allocated to improve weather forecast accuracy, helping to mitigate the impacts on life, property, and the economy. In response to past severe weather events and in effort to reduce the impact of future events on the country, Congress has passed legislation to provide additional funding to accelerate improvements to hurricane, wildfire, flood, and extreme precipitation forecasting and prediction. This legislation includes the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (FY18), the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (FY19), and the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations (DRSA) Act of 2021.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Weather Program Office (WPO) Supplemental Appropriations Program manages research in these 3 portfolios that contributes to advancements in weather forecasting. Imperative to the success of this research is the availability and access to sufficient High Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure. Many of the projects in the 3 portfolios primarily leverage HPC through existing NOAA resources. However, DRSA allocated $50 million for improvements to operational and research weather and climate supercomputing dissemination infrastructure. Several projects are using HPC to accelerate improvements to the Unified Forecast System applications. This includes the Rapid Refresh Forecast System and the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System.

This poster will highlight the role the Supplemental Appropriations team plays in planning, coordinating, and managing HPC resources across 3 Supplemental portfolios. Challenges encountered, including the availability of sufficient HPC capacity, will be highlighted. Mitigation strategies employed to address these challenges and issues, as well as lessons learned, will be discussed. Finally, upcoming opportunities to integrate and leverage new HPC resources into the Supplemental portfolios, including leveraging cloud resources, will be covered.