The new WRF model is under continued development and will eventually become the primary 1-3 day operational NWP model in this country. This model is designed for optimal configuration with grid spacing from 1 to 10 km. Thus, it has the potential to provide unprecendented mesoscale detail in its numerical forecasts. Yet, it is not clear how we might best take advantage of the potential capabilities of the WRF modeling system. At the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) we have been evaluating the WRF model so that the needs of operational forecasters are considered during the course of model development and the design of model output presentation.

Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) are responsible for issuing severe weather and general thunderstorm outlooks, tornado and severe thunderstorm watches, and short-term mesoscale guidance products for severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, heavy snow, and freezing precipitation. Since their forecast domain covers the entire lower 48 states, SPC forecasters must monitor and predict hazardous weather nearly every day, yet their forecast challenges are almost exclusively within the realm of mesoscale phenomena. They have exceptional insight into forecasting mesoscale and storm-scale processes and can provide valuable feedback to WRF model developers.

WRF model output will be evaluated systematically as part of the 2002 SPC/NSSL Spring Program, to be conducted in coordination with the IHOP field program. Model strengths and weaknesses will be identified and compared to other operational models (i.e., Eta and RUC) within the same evaluation framework. Results from this evaluation and recommendations for continued WRF development will be presented at the conference.