Update on Numerical Weather Prediction Efforts within the 16th Weather Squadron

The USAF’s 16th Weather Squadron is the 24/7 provider of automated environmental intelligence tailored to meet the needs of Air Force and Army operations worldwide. In this presentation, recent advancements including operationalizing deterministic and ensemble global capabilities using the Unified Model (UM) with observational data quality controlled and assimilated by the squadron will be reviewed. Regional domains at 1.5 km horizontal resolution using the UM are being operationalized for areas of the world where the need for environmental information is greatest and will be discussed. Also, adaptations tailored for the military environment such as winter precipitation algorithms and transmitting weather data over ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio via line-of-sight and satellite communications will be discussed.