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OT: NOAA Announces Major Upgrade to Supercomputers with Anticipated Model Improvements

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This is excellent news for people who depend on accurate weather forecasts, including forecasters, emergency response personnel, hobbyists and the general public, as it will provide the ability for models (like the primary US global model, the GFS, and the new hurricane model being rolled out) to more accurately predict short and medium term weather, as per the link and excerpt below. My guess is the improvements will be best seen in precipitation forecasts, both for large scale storms and for mesoscale convective events, like t-storms (I hope).

https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/us-supercomputers-for-weather-and-climate-forecasts-get-major-bump

Enhanced computing and storage capacity will allow NOAA to deploy higher-resolution models to better capture small-scale features like severe thunderstorms, more realistic model physics to better capture the formation of clouds and precipitation, and a larger number of individual model simulations to better quantify model certainty. The end result is even better forecasts and warnings to support public safety and the national economy.

The new supercomputers will enable an upgrade to the U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) this fall and the launch of a new hurricane forecast model called the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS), slated to be in operation for the 2023 hurricane season pending tests and evaluation.
 
This is excellent news for people who depend on accurate weather forecasts, including forecasters, emergency response personnel, hobbyists and the general public, as it will provide the ability for models (like the primary US global model, the GFS, and the new hurricane model being rolled out) to more accurately predict short and medium term weather, as per the link and excerpt below. My guess is the improvements will be best seen in precipitation forecasts, both for large scale storms and for mesoscale convective events, like t-storms (I hope).

https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/us-supercomputers-for-weather-and-climate-forecasts-get-major-bump

Enhanced computing and storage capacity will allow NOAA to deploy higher-resolution models to better capture small-scale features like severe thunderstorms, more realistic model physics to better capture the formation of clouds and precipitation, and a larger number of individual model simulations to better quantify model certainty. The end result is even better forecasts and warnings to support public safety and the national economy.

The new supercomputers will enable an upgrade to the U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) this fall and the launch of a new hurricane forecast model called the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS), slated to be in operation for the 2023 hurricane season pending tests and evaluation.

Footage from the NOAA server room:

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