NCEP GFS Weather Forecast Grid for Continental US

A polar stereographic grid of numerical weather prediction data from the NCEP Global Forecast System (GFS). The dataset contains analysis and 6-hourly forecast fields out to 5 days, produced by model runs at 0, 6, 12, and 18Z. It was published by the organization SCIOPS and last updated in December 2015.

Use Cases

• Analyze forecast skill for surface pressure and 10 mandatory pressure levels from 1000 to 100 hPa.
• Validate model output against observations using the 129 by 85 point horizontal grid over the CONUS region.
• Study atmospheric dynamics by examining 6-hourly forecast intervals across a 5-day prediction window.
• Assess the impact of different initialization times (0, 6, 12, 18Z) on forecast variables like height above ground.

Strengths

• Provides forecasts at 6-hour intervals for a 5-day period, offering temporal continuity.
• Grid structure defined with 129 by 85 horizontal points and 10 vertical pressure levels.
• Model runs are initialized four times daily (0, 6, 12, 18Z), allowing for analysis of initialization sensitivity.

Limitations

• Data is from 2015 and may not reflect current model versions or atmospheric conditions.
• Spatial resolution is coarse at 95.25 km, limiting analysis of mesoscale weather features.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the Continental United States (CONUS).

Provenance

Source

NCEP Global Forecast System (GFS) model via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Output from numerical weather prediction model runs.

Time Range

Temporal coverage is not specified; data reflects model runs from circa 2015.

Freshness

Last updated on 2015-12-02; update frequency is unknown.

Geography

Continental United States (CONUS) on a polar stereographic grid.