Unveiling the Power of Cloud-Based Weather Modeling and Forecasting

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) data is the form of weather modeling data that most professionals and consumers are most familiar with. NWP takes current observations of weather measurements and utilizes this data to create weather forecasts. Many systems assisting researchers in ingesting, analyzing, and storing this data do so with the help of weather modeling applications like Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF).

Weather Modeling and Forecasting Process Weather forecasters utilize mathematical equations that factor in the physics behind the variables that influence weather – solar radiation, orbital distance from the sun, pressure, wind, temperature, and moisture – among others. These observations are obtained from sensors or satellites and then fed into the equations in a process that’s referred to as data assimilation. This data is then fed into a few different slots that assist in the process of specifying weather for future points.

There are three primary used synoptics forecast models: The North American Mesoscale Model (NAM), the Global Forecast System (GFS), and the Nested Grid Model (NGM).

North American Mesoscale Model (NAM) The NAM model refers to a numerical weather prediction model run by National Centers for Environmental Prediction for short-term weather forecasting. Currently, the Weather Research and Forecasting Non-hydrostatic Mesoscale Model (WRF-NMM) model is run as the NAM, thus, three names (NAM, WRF, or NMM) typically refer to the same model output.

Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) The WRF model is a mesoscale numerical weather prediction system for both operational forecasting and atmospheric research objectives. WRF was developed through the partnerships of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), the Naval Research Laboratory, Oklahoma University and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

WRF offers two dynamical solvers for its computation of the atmospheric governing equations: WRF-ARW (Advanced Research WRF) and WRF-NMM (nonhydrostatic mesoscale model). ARW is supported to the community by the NCAR Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory. NMM is supported to the community by the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC).

Global Forecast System (GFS) The GFS is a weather forecast model that is produced by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). This model produces a dataset that allows for dozens of atmospheric and land-soil variables to be accessed and considered in the forecasting of weather, like temperature, wind, precipitation, soil moisture, and atmospheric ozone concentration.

The entire globe is covered by the GFS with a base horizontal resolution of 18 miles between grid points, which is used by forecasters to predict weather for out to 16 days in the future.

Cloud-Based Recommendations Cloud-based weather modeling and forecasting leverage the power of the NZO Cloud to handle high-resolution models and complex computations. NZO Cloud offers a range of cloud-based services and capabilities tailored to the requirements of weather modeling:

Cloud-Based Memory: NZO Cloud’s memory options ensure that large models can be efficiently solved, enabling faster data assimilation and improved forecasting accuracy.

Cloud-Based CPU: NZO Cloud provides a variety of CPU options, allowing users to select the number of cores and clock speed to meet their weather modeling needs.

Cloud-Based Storage: NZO Cloud offers scalable and high-performance storage solutions, accommodating the vast amounts of data involved in weather modeling and analysis.

Cloud-Based GPU: To speed up complex solutions, NZO Cloud offers NVIDIA GPUs that are often utilized for accelerated computations.

Cloud-Based Network Performance: NZO Cloud provides high-speed interconnects, such as 100 Gb/sec network fabrics from Intel (Omnipath) and Mellanox (Infiniband), ensuring smooth communication and reduced latencies in weather modeling HPC environments.

NZO Cloud+ Cloud Solution: For high-resolution weather models, NZO Cloud’s HPC cluster, the NZO Cloud+, delivers massive computing power with utmost reliability. The NZO Cloud expertise in systems design, manufacturing, and installation ensures that your weather model performs exactly as intended.

Government agencies, public utilities, and research organizations rely on NZO Cloud’s expertise to realize their goals for mitigating and managing risk associated with severe weather and the effects of climate change. NZO Cloud’s cloud-based solutions offer flexibility, scalability, and performance, empowering organizations in the financial services industry to optimize forecasting accuracy and deliver crucial services to the public.