Premium
Variational assimilation of cloud fraction in the operational Met Office Unified Model
Author(s) -
Renshaw Richard,
Francis Peter N.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.980
Subject(s) - cloud computing , meteorology , data assimilation , cloud cover , range (aeronautics) , computer science , satellite , numerical weather prediction , environmental science , cloud fraction , aerospace engineering , geography , engineering , operating system
Short‐range forecasts of cloud cover are considered an important part of providing a public weather service in the UK. These require accurate initial conditions. Satellite imagery and surface cloud reports provide observations of cloud but using these to initialize forecast models is not easy. Cloud data are not well suited to variational analysis schemes. This paper describes how the Met Office variational analysis has been adapted to use such data. Results show that cloud observations can be usefully assimilated. Copyright © 2011 British Crown copyright, the Met Office. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.