Is model resolution important?

[TZ]

Yes, it is very important. Some local phenomena cannot be forecasted by the coarse model.

Following pictures show differences between ECMWF and GFS forecasts for Canarian islands.

Wind pattern is affected by the shape of the mountains. This effect is not caught by the coarse model.

Similar problems occur in forecasts of convective storms or disputed maximum wind velocity in hurricanes.

ECMWF model (approx 9km resolution)

GFS model (approx 22km resolution)

[ivo]

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[TZ]

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[capt.Amory]

@TZ that Makes sense. But is the GFS model 22km higher resolution is better/more occurate than lower European ECMWF 9km resolution model?

[idefix37]

@capt-Amory
No, GFS 22km has a lower resolution than ECMWF 9km which has a higher resolution.
https://help.weatherflow.com/hc/en-us/articles/207913278-Weather-model-resolution
The resolution is the number of grid points on a given surface (or pixels on a digital photo). If you decrease the distance between the points, you increase their number and so the resolution.