How Developmental Testbed Center is Facilitating Transitioning Research Innovations into the Operational HWRF Model

The Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model is an operational model focused on providing numerical guidance for Tropical Cyclones (TCs). The HWRF model is a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean model run operationally for all global basins. The HWRF system consist of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric model coupled with the MPI Princeton Ocean Model for TCs (MPIPOM-TC), a state-of-the-art initialization and vortex relocation procedure, data assimilation using the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) and postprocessing and vortex tracking tools. HWRF has shown remarkable skills in intensity prediction.

The DTC provides support to both the general community and active developers for the HWRF system. HWRF v3.9a was released in October 2017, which includes the 2017 operational capabilities, as well as research capabilities such as alternate physics, alternate configurations, and idealized simulations. Because the HWRF code is undergoing rapid development, the DTC also engages with active developers from multiple government institutions and universities in support of collaboration and exchange of the continuously evolving code. Developers funded through the DTC visitor program are also supported to partner with the DTC to work in areas aimed at improvement to operational numerical guidance.

To accelerate the transition of research to operations and facilitate code access for the research community, the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC) has partnered with NOAA/NCEP Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) to provide support for the Hurricane WRF (HWRF) modeling system. The HWRF model is a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean model run operationally for all global basins.

Additionally, the DTC performs independent testing directed at evaluating research innovations that show promise for operational implementation. This presentation will provide an overview of the DTC mechanisms that aid in the transition of research to operations, including user and developer support, the DTC visitor program, code management procedures, and testing and evaluation. Successful R2O transitions, such as inclusion of enhancements to the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model for Global Circulation Models (RRTMG) radiation parameterization within the 2016 and 2017 operational HWRF and alternative physics candidates for the 2018 operational HWRF will be shown.