New and Planned NWP Training from UCAR’s COMET® Program

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) has evolved at a fast pace over the last few years. This is true of both deterministic and probabilistic NWP data for use in operational forecasting. Post-processing has also evolved, especially for probabilistic NWP, to enhance usability in the forecast process. Training is a fundamental part of the transfer of new computer forecast technologies to operations.

For many years, the CoOperative program for Meteorological Education and Training (COMET®) has worked with the National Weather Service and others, to provide multimedia training for operational meteorologists. As part of this work, COMET® continues to publish web-based training on NWP models on its MetEd website, with support from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). In this presentation, we will demonstrate new training on the National Weather Service’s National Blend of Models (NBM), high-resolution ensemble forecast systems, and the application of new forecast tools in operational forecasting. We will also touch on COMET’s NWP Models Encyclopedia, a resource describing the current configuration of deterministic and probabilistic NWP models. Finally, tentative plans for future NWP training will be discussed, including plans for the new Finite Volume version 3 (FV3) unified forecast model.