The Unified Forecast System Research to Operations (UFS-R2O) Project: A Community Perspective

The Unified Forecast System Research to Operations Project (UFS-R2O), now in Phase 2 (2023-2026), is an experimental collaborative effort to adopt new computing and analysis software infrastructure; develop shared, open codes to improve the dynamics, physics, and coupling of Earth system component models; adopt new data assimilation infrastructure and methods; and build a suite of forecast applications that will replace the very large and complex “quilt” of programs producing thousands of operational forecast products. The collaboration includes scientists from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratories, including the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Environmental Modelling Center and several NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) labs, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the Naval Research Lab (NRL) and several universities and Cooperative Institutes. This very large, diverse, and multi-institutional group of scientists and technical experts has been led by a three-person team from the National Weather Service (NWS; Vijay Tallapragada), OAR (Jeff Whitaker), and the university community (the author). Over the past five years, this unique combination of NOAA labs both inside and outside NWS – which is charged with delivering the operational forecasts, data products, watches and warnings – together with non-NOAA entities, has taken on the very ambitious goal of transforming the operational suite of nearly 30 separate and independent forecast applications into a streamlined and unified suite of less than 10 integrated and coordinated applications, bringing them to a level of readiness suitable for transition to operations. This paper will provide a community perspective on the successes, challenges, and prospects for the future of the UFS R2O project.