IBM Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System
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Hi Windy Team,
I see that IBM GRAF is now available for using and was wondering if the Windy Team is looking at adding its global forecasting service alongside ECMWF & GFS?
GRAF - "Running on an IBM POWER9 supercomputer, this new global weather model updates hourly and at a 3 – 4 km resolution to help create a clear and reliable weather picture."
https://www.weathercompany.com/global-high-resolution-atmospheric-forecasting/
I have tried to look for licensing but haven't found much.
I can see that The Weather Company and Wunderground Weather both use GRAF.
As always, I love Windy and this community.
Can't wait to hear back from the Team.
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As the GRAF model was developed by IMB conjointly with NCAR (NOAA), I guess it will be maybe freely and publicly available... one day, but not very soon: IBM is a private company and sharing such a big data costs a lot of money...
Actually, meteorology and weather forecasting are science; computing power provided by IBM could of course greatly help, but could never substitute it...
IBM's announcements made a great noise about GRAF model in the news, six months ago (and nothing since then - I guess the model is not operational yet), but they don't say anything about sharing the data otherwise than via their own apps. It is just said that: "...are available for free to consumers using IBM apps and websites (The Weather Channel and Weather Underground)", while the latest are both owned by IBM.
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It was just launched. We will see how the quality of the model will be.
It is not about the model itself, resolution or supercomputer it uses. It is about initialization data, that make forecast model so good.
Ivo
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@anthony10 Yeah. I wish I could see this model visualization in windy as well. I see more weather local forecast Channel using this model as a liable resource nowadays.
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@JohnnyMac would you know any useful links that the Windy team could look at?
Maybe we can get the community behind this and show the Windy team we’re keen.
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@JohnnyMac https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/DQD3QN96
Six key features set GRAF apart:
– Fidelity: Takes resolution down from
10 km-12 km to 3 km-4 km
– Frequency: Updates every hour instead
of 6-12 hours
– Fresh: Assimilates weather data more
rapidly into forecasts
– Fine grain: Up to 5-minute outputs
versus 1 hour provides a clearer picture
of weather occurrences
– Fortified: Exploring incorporation of
untapped data sources
– Forefront: First operational global
weather model to run on a GPU accelerated supercomputer -
@anthony10 Hi thanks for your link. I read pretty the same as you shared. Not too much latest news on the internet if googled. GRAF model's precipitation radar forecast is very impressive. And can be updated hourly. I don't know if that's the windy team's focus.
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@JohnnyMac
....precipitation radar forecast is very impressive...
Impressive, yes
Accurate??? -
It seems quite accurate, yes. During the floods that have devastated southeastern Spain, it was the most accurate of all, according to the Spanish meteorological agency (AEMET).
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@David-M-2d45101e-b78d-4f15-9b4a-8e5316161d9d Would you have any links that show the Spanish meteorological agency talking about GRAF please?
