Numerical Weather Prediction - A few Basics

Go to the Forecast Models and Weather Observations page for sources of model output.

General education resources

The education resources are listed in order of increasing force. The last two references are appropriate for people with a well above average interest (i.e. true weather geeks) or for professional meteorologists or those who seek to become one. The last reference is to a training course that the creators estimate will take 12 to 17 hours to complete. Fear not, as you can always stop and continue at a later time or date. You need to create an account to access the course. This website author went through the course a number of years ago and it was excellent. The course will continue to be updated.

Specific forecast models with some details about their use and construction.

North American Mesoscale Forecast System (NAM)

Brief definition - National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

North American Mesoscale (NAM) Analysis and Forecast System Characteristics - National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)


Global Forecast System (GFS)

Brief definition - National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

List of GFS documentation sources - National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)

GFS documentation homepage - National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)


Rapid Refresh (RAP)

Brief definition - National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)


Weather Research and Forecast Model

Introduction - National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)

WRF Model Users' Page - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)


Global Deterministic Prediction System (GDPS) and Regional Deterministic Prediction System (RDPS)

The GDPS and the RDPS are two of the operational models of the Global Environmental Multiscale Model (GEM). Some of the other operational models of the GEM suite are the High-Resolution Deterministic Prediction System (HRDPS), Global Ensemble Prediction System (GEPS), and Regional Ensemble Prediction System (REPS).

This Wikipedia entry is a good summary and includes lots of external links.


Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic Model (ICON)

A brief but detailed overview is on the ICON homepage.