Jun Du

Using Ensembles for Short-Range Forecasting

Numerical forecasts from a pilot program on short-range ensemble forecasting at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction are examined. The ensemble consists of 10 forecasts made using the 80-km Eta Model and 5 forecasts from the regional spectral model. Results indicate that the accuracy of the ensemble mean is comparable to that from the 29-km Meso Eta Model for both mandatory level data and the 36-h forecast cyclone position. Calculations of spread indicate that at 36 and 48 h the spread from initial conditions created using the breeding of growing modes technique is larger than the spread from initial conditions created using different analyses. However, the accuracy of the forecast cyclone position from these two initialization techniques is nearly identical. Results further indicate that using two different numerical models assists in increasing the ensemble spread significantly. There is little correlation between the spread in the ensemble members and the accuracy of the ensemble mean for the prediction of cyclone location. Since information on forecast uncertainty is needed in many applications, and is one of the reasons to use an ensemble approach, the lack of a correlation between spread and forecast uncertainty presents a challenge to the production of short-range ensemble forecasts. Even though the ensemble dispersion is not found to be an indication of forecast uncertainty, significant spread can occur within the forecasts over a relatively short time period. Examples are shown to illustrate how small uncertainties in the model initial conditions can lead to large differences in numerical forecasts from an identical numerical model.

An Overview of the 2010 Hazardous Weather Testbed Experimental Forecast Program Spring Experiment

The NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) conducts annual spring forecasting experiments organized by the Storm Prediction Center and National Severe Storms Laboratory to test and evaluate emerging scientific concepts and technologies for improved analysis and prediction of hazardous mesoscale weather. A primary goal is to accelerate the transfer of promising new scientific concepts and tools from research to operations through the use of intensive real-time experimental forecasting and evaluation activities conducted during the spring and early summer convective storm period. The 2010 NOAA/HWT Spring Forecasting Experiment (SE2010), conducted 17 May through 18 June, had a broad focus, with emphases on heavy rainfall and aviation weather, through collaboration with the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) and the Aviation Weather Center (AWC), respectively. In addition, using the computing resources of the National Institute for Computational Sciences at the University of Tennessee, the Center for A...

Probabilistic Precipitation Forecast Skill as a Function of Ensemble Size and Spatial Scale in a Convection-Allowing Ensemble

Probabilistic quantitative precipitation forecasts (PQPFs) from the storm-scale ensemble forecast system run by the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms during the spring of 2009 are evaluated using area under the relative operating characteristic curve (ROC area). ROC area, which measures discriminating ability, is examined for ensemble size n from 1 to 17 members and for spatial scales ranging from 4 to 200 km. Expectedly, incremental gains in skill decrease with increasing n. Significance tests comparing ROC areas for each n to those of the full 17-member ensemble revealed that more members are required to reach statistically indistinguishable PQPF skill relative to the full ensemble as forecast lead time increases and spatial scale decreases. These results appear to reflect the broadening of the forecast probability distribution function (PDF) of future atmospheric states associated with decreasing spatial scale and increasing forecast lead time. They also illustrate that efficient allocation of computing resources for convection-allowing ensembles requires careful consideration of spatial scale and forecast length desired.

An Overview of the Beijing 2008 Olympics Research and Development Project (B08RDP)

The Beijing 2008 Olympics Research and Development Project (B08RDP), initiated in 2004 under the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Weather Research Programme (WWRP), undertook the research and development of mesoscale ensemble prediction systems (MEPSs) and their application to weather forecast support during the Beijing Olympic Games. Six MEPSs from six countries, representing the state-of-the-art regional EPSs with near-real-time capabilities and emphasizing on the 6–36-h forecast lead times, participated in the project. The background, objectives, and implementation of B08RDP, as well as the six MEPSs, are reviewed. The accomplishments are summarized, which include 1) providing value-added service to the Olympic Games, 2) advancing MEPS-related research, 3) accelerating the transition from research to operations, and 4) training forecasters in utilizing forecast uncertainty products. The B08RDP has fulfilled its research (MEPS development) and demonstration (value-added service) purposes. T...

Theory and Applications of the Minimum Spanning Tree Rank Histogram

Abstract A minimum spanning tree (MST) rank histogram (RH) is a multidimensional ensemble reliability verification tool. The construction of debiased, decorrelated, and covariance-homogenized MST RHs is described. Experiments using Euclidean L2, variance, and Mahalanobis norms imply that, unless the number of ensemble members is less than or equal to the number of dimensions being verified, the Mahalanobis norm transforms the problem into a space where ensemble imperfections are most readily identified. Short-Range Ensemble Forecast Mahalanobis-normed MST RHs for a cluster of northeastern U.S. cities show that forecasts of the temperature–humidity index are the most reliable of those considered, followed by mean sea level pressure, 2-m temperature, and 10-m wind speed forecasts. MST RHs of a Southwest city cluster illustrate that 2-m temperature forecasts are the most reliable weather component in this region, followed by mean sea level pressure, 10-m wind speed, and the temperature–humidity index. Foreca...

The New England High-Resolution Temperature Program

Abstract The New England High-Resolution Temperature Program seeks to improve the accuracy of summertime 2-m temperature and dewpoint temperature forecasts in the New England region through a collaborative effort between the research and operational components of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The four main components of this program are 1) improved surface and boundary layer observations for model initialization, 2) special observations for the assessment and improvement of model physical process parameterization schemes, 3) using model forecast ensemble data to improve upon the operational forecasts for near-surface variables, and 4) transfering knowledge gained to commercial weather services and end users. Since 2002 this program has enhanced surface temperature observations by adding 70 new automated Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) sites, identified and collected data from over 1000 non-NOAA mesonet sites, and deployed boundary layer profilers and other special instrum...

Using a mesoscale ensemble to predict forecast error and perform targeted observation

Using NCEP short range ensemble forecast (SREF) system, demonstrated two fundamental on-going evolutions in numerical weather prediction (NWP) are through ensemble methodology. One evolution is the shift from traditional single-value deterministic forecast to flow-dependent (not statistical) probabilistic forecast to address forecast uncertainty. Another is from a one-way observation-prediction system shifting to an interactive two-way observation-prediction system to increase predictability of a weather system. In the first part, how ensemble spread from NCEP SREF predicting ensemble-mean forecast error was evaluated over a period of about a month. The result shows that the current capability of predicting forecast error by the 21-member NCEP SREF has reached to a similar or even higher level than that of current state-of-the-art NWP models in predicting precipitation, e.g., the spatial correlation between ensemble spread and absolute forecast error has reached 0.5 or higher at 87 h (3.5 d) lead time on average for some meteorological variables. This demonstrates that the current operational ensemble system has already had preliminary capability of predicting the forecast error with usable skill, which is a remarkable achievement as of today. Given the good spread-skill relation, the probability derived from the ensemble was also statistically reliable, which is the most important feature a useful probabilistic forecast should have. The second part of this research tested an ensemble-based interactive targeting (E-BIT) method. Unlike other mathematically-calculated objective approaches, this method is subjective or human interactive based on information from an ensemble of forecasts. A numerical simulation study was performed to eight real atmospheric cases with a 10-member, bred vector-based mesoscale ensemble using the NCEP regional spectral model (RSM, a sub-component of NCEP SREF) to prove the concept of this E-BIT method. The method seems to work most effective for basic atmospheric state variables, moderately effective for convective instabilities and least effective for precipitations. Precipitation is a complex result of many factors and, therefore, a more challenging field to be improved by targeted observation.

The Rapid Growth of Publications by Atmospheric and Oceanic Scientists of Chinese Origin

DIVERSITY I mmigrants have made a significant contribution to American culture, economic well-being, and science and technology. A survey in the journal Science (28 May 2004 issue) showed that foreign-born or-educated scientists made exceptional contributions to U.S. science in almost all scientific disciplines. However, their contributions may not be appropriately recognized in terms of the proportion of all contributions they make to the scientific literature (Stephan and Levin 2001). Within the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the presence of Chinese-American (CA) scientists in the fields of oceanic, atmospheric, and Earth-related sciences. In fact, they represent about 9% of the total doctoral recipients (Johnson 2001). Flipping through the pages of journals in geophysics and Earth sciences, the significant proportion of articles authored or coauthored by scientists of Chinese origin is evident. Despite the anecdotal evidence, no objective statistics exist to quantify the growing trend. In an attempt to begin compiling statistics, the Chi-nese-American Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (COAA) surveyed selected journals published by the AMS and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). COAA itself is a product of the increasing presence of CAs in the Earth-science fields. The COAA was formed to meet the needs of the Chinese-American atmospheric, oceanic, and Earth-science community. Registered as a nonprofit organization, its purposes are to network atmospheric, oceanic, and related Earth-science professionals to establish a forum based on common interests, to promote professional opportunity and quality and to utilize science results to benefit society. With 66 founding members in 1993, COAAs membership has grown to over 400, mostly CAs living in regions with major meteorological All volumes of the AMS journals are online (except for BAMS, archived back to 1970 only), while the online AGU journals date from 1994, as of this study, so our statistics for the AMS journals cover a longer time period than that for the AGU journals. It is worth noting that these journals represent just a handful of sampled periodicals to which Chinese authors contribute. Other leading journals, such as Climate Dynamics, Climate Change, Boundary Layer Meteorology, etc., are also major outlets for CA scientists in the atmospheric and oceanic science fields. First, we selected articles that had at least one author of Chinese ethnic origin, and collected author names, article titles, institutions, and key words. We consid