Release Level	5.6
	Release Date	2009 09
	Revision Level	1.0

Last modified on:   Sunday, 14-Jun-09 04:41 CEST

WRF Meteorological Model

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model is a next-generation mesoscale numerical weather prediction system designed to serve both operational forecasting and atmospheric research needs.

The WRF model is a fully compressible, and nonhydrostatic model (with a runtime hydrostatic option). Its vertical coordinate is a terrain-following hydrostatic pressure coordinate. The grid staggering is the Arakawa C-grid. The model uses the Runge-Kutta 2nd and 3rd order time integration schemes, and 2nd to 6th order advection schemes in both horizontal and vertical. It uses a time-split small step for acoustic and gravity-wave modes. The dynamics conserves scalar variables.

The current WRF software framework supports multiple dynamical cores such as:

• the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) developed and maintained by the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division of NCAR,
• the nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Model (NMM) developed by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction with user support provided by the Developmental Testbed Center.

Model structure: WRF is implemented with a set of data basaes and cgi's

Databases:

• WRF.WRF_scenario
• AIRMATRIX
• RBO.RBODATA
• MONITORING_TS
• GLOBAL_LOG.LOG

html code:

• /var/www/html/templates/wrf/

• /var/www/html/templates/mm5/php - shared with MM5 model

cgi's directory: /var/www/cgi-bin/wrf contains:

• geogrid.exe - WPS: grid generating program
• ungrib.exe - WPS: input grib format decoding program
• metgrid.exe - WPS: horizontal interpolation of input meteo data
• ndown.exe - WRFV3: interpolation nest down
• nup.exe - WRFV3: interpolation nest up
• real.exe - WRFV3: vertical interpolation of input meteo data
• wrf.exe - WRFV3: wrf model executable
• wrfcamx.linux - wrfcamx_v2.1: conversion WRF output to CAMx input
• wrfimport.cgi - import of WRF scenario
• wrfstation.cgi - import of WRF timeseries for monitoring stations
• wrfrun.cgi - main program to run the model

The main program wrfrun.cgi initializes WRF runs reading WRF scenario entries from the database WRF.WRF_scenario (such as simulation date and time, run type, location and domain, data and application directories). The program performs decoding and interoplation of meteo input data from the global models in the input data directory, writes namelist files for the model configuration and runs the model. If the model run was successful, results are saved into the output directory. Output is coverted from the LCP to UTM grid using conversion program for CAMx.

The results are imported for the WRF scenario and for monitoring stations (Meteorology and Combined).