Status of Test Case Integration into UFS Weather Model and Applications

The integration of case studies and idealized test cases into the UFS Weather Model (UFS-WM) and applications can inform numerical weather prediction (NWP) model development, delineate model performance strengths or biases, and provide an entry point for user contributions to the UFS. Idealized test case configurations can reduce model complexity and computational cost, serving to isolate specific model components, showcase impacts of proposed code changes or feature additions on model performance and forecast skill, and optimize test efficiency. Additionally, case studies offer practical, real-world forecasting scenarios in NWP, wherein users can tune model inputs and parameters (e.g., physics suites, initial/boundary conditions, model resolution, etc.) to assess the performance of model forecasts in comparison to observational data sets. At NOAA's Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC), there is an ongoing effort to integrate both idealized tests and case studies into the UFS-WM and associated applications, such as the UFS Short-Range Weather Application (SRW). This presentation will provide an overview of recent developments regarding such test cases and the associated testing framework, as well as outline future directions for this work.