Experimental real-time smoke forecasting at ESRL/GSD using the operational High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR)

The High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) is a NOAA real-time 3-km resolution, hourly updated, cloud-resolving atmospheric model. Recently the experimental interactive-chemistry version of the HRRR (HRRR-Chem) has been modified to produce cycled 12h forecasts for wildfire smoke. While the HRRR-Chem uses real-time fire information obtained from GOES satellites (WF-ABBA and MODIS), the newer Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRSS) data is being examined as a new source of active fire location information.

The presentation will provide an overview of the current status of the HRRR-Chem real-time forecasting system being used at NOAA/ESRL and along with some of the latest developments. In addition some results from real-time HRRR-Chem simulations will be presented and the methodology by which the data is verified as well as disseminated to the operational forecasting community will be discussed.