During the first weeks of January 2023, we implemented several website improvements to make the usage of our website more enjoyable and to improve our nowcasting data.
Besides many minor website updates, the most significant changes are the new radar covering Scandinavia and the availability of the HRRR weather model for North America.
As highlighted in the image, the HRRR weather model covers important parts of North America with a spatial resolution of 3km and delivers hourly forecast updates for the next 18 hours. THE HRRR model is provided by NOAA Environment Monitoring System. Due to the high updating frequency and the high resolution, this weather model is especially useful for nowcasting. Nowcasting is a short-term weather forecast for the next 6 hours, updated frequently with available data sources such as weather models, satellites, radar or measurement data. The data on our website is constantly updated when refreshing. The new HRRR is included in the calculation of forecast data in North America for the following hours, which can be accessed on our main page and especially on the Weather Today page.
Furthermore, the model data is also available as weather maps for various weather variables. You can select the weather model in the lower right corner of the maps interface.
As described, radar data is also used for precipitation nowcasting. To improve the precipitation data for Scandinavia, we have added a new radar dataset that delivers real-time data and detailed forecast data for the next 2 hours. This data is used for the radar maps and is also considered for the precipitation forecast data calculation.
We are sure that these additions further improve our weather forecast data, which accuracy is documented in our validation study.
