Operational Environmental Modeling Across Scales

Operational environmental modeling, with a focus on weather modeling, represents a foundational effort for NOAA to fulfill its mission. The operational part of this modeling suite is operated by the National Weather Service (NWS), and is generally known as the “production suite”. Traditionally, the production suite has focused on solutions for isolated parts of the NOAA mission, which has resulted in a disparate quilt of models and products, with often overlapping applications. External reviews of the production suite have long called for a simplification and unification of the production suite, focusing on requirements and products rather than on solutions.

The NWS has been developing a Strategic Vision, Roadmap and Strategic Implementation plan to evolve the production suite into a unified modeling suite across scales. These activities are consistent with the findings of the NOAA Unified Modeling Task Force (UMTF, recently reorganized as the NOAA Unified Modeling Committee, UMC), and with the broader National Earth System Prediction Capability (National ESPC). The paper will report on the progress made in unifying the production suite, with a focus on general principles and on the unification of weather elements in the production suite on the FV3 dynamic core developed by the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) of NOAA.