The THORPEX Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE) project established three archive centers (CMA, ECMWF, NCAR) where operational global ensemble forecasts are collected from most major numerical weather prediction centers. For limited areas and periods, regional ensemble forecasts will also be included in the archive. The primary purpose of the archives is to make operational ensemble forecast data easily accessible to the scientific community, encouraging research leading to the acceleration of improvements in the skill and utility of high impact weather forecasts.

The North American Ensemble Forecast System (NAEFS) was established in 2004 by the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC), the National Meteorological Service of Mexico (NMSM), and the US National Weather Service (NWS) as an operational multi-center ensemble forecast system. Currently it combines the 20-member MSC and NWS ensembles to form a joint ensemble of 40 members twice a day. After bias correction, the joint ensemble is used to generate a suite of products for North America and for other regions of the globe.

TIGGE research is expected to advise the development of the operational NAEFS system and eventually the two projects are expected to converge into a single operational system, the Global Interactive Forecast System (GIFS). This presentation will review recent developments, the current status, and plans related to the TIGGE research and NAEFS operational multi-center ensemble projects.