WRF Reference Configurations

The WRF community has expressed a need for extensive testing of the next generation Numerical Weather Prediction technologies included in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. To address this need, the WRF Developmental Testbed Center (DTC) is implementing the concept of WRF Reference Configurations. WRF Reference Configurations will aid the operational community by providing guidance for the selection of the next generation Operational Configurations and will contribute to the research community by providing baselines against which to test the impacts of new techniques. Reference Configurations will also provide the entire user community with results on the robustness, timeliness, and forecast skill of select configurations of WRF.

A WRF Reference Configuration is defined by a particular collection of configuration files that are set at compile- and run-time and are detailed in a design document. Extensive testing of these Reference Configurations is based on official releases of the WRF code with the inclusion of any bug fixes posted before the retrospective testing begins in order for the results to be most relevant to the user community. After each Reference Configuration has been extensively tested and documented, the baseline data and statistical verification results will be made available to the community.

In this presentation, the DTC will provide a description of WRF Reference Configurations and the impetus behind this classification. An overview of the DTC's plans for WRF Reference Configuration testing and evaluation for the coming year will also be presented.