Rapid Refresh (RAP)
Composite reflectivity
Surface Temperature
850 mb Relative Humidity
850 mb Wind
250 mb Wind
- An operational NOAA/
NCEP
hourly updating operational weather prediction system
covering North America
comprised primarily of
- A numerical forecast model
- An analysis/assimilation system to initialize that model.
- NOTE:
The operational NCEP RAP (version 1) uses slightly older versions of forecast model (WRF) and assimilation (GSI) code while the experimental ESRL RAP (version 2) uses updated versions.- The NCEP Rapid Refresh uses a
a RAP-configuration of the WRF model, with ARW core
(v3.2.1+) with generally RUC-like physics (Grell-G3 convection,
Thompson/NCAR microphysics, RRTM longwave radiation, Goddard
shortwave radiation, MYJ turbulent mixing, RUC-Smirnova
land-surface model)
- a RAP-configuration of the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system. (with cloud/hydrometeor analysis added, similar to RUC)
- 13-km horizontal resolution, 50 vertical levels, ptop=10hPa, sigma vertical coordinate
- rotated lat-lon projection grid (change from previous Lambert conformal grid in July-Oct 2010) with a 759x567 mass-point domain (Arakawa C grid) More domain info here.
- Uses 1/12-deg NCEP sea-surface temperatures
- Output grids to be available from NCEP (including those exactly matching grids currently available from RUC.
- The experimental ESRL Rapid Refresh (RAPv2) has a number of differences:
- Model core: WRFv3.3.1+ instead of WRFv3.2.1+
- Model physics: Improved versions of Thompson microphysics and RUC/Smirnova land-surface model
- Surface fields: MODIS land-surface data including fractional coverage
- Numerics: 5th-order vertical advection instead of 3rd-order, w-damping upper boundary condition.
- Data assimilation: Updated to GSI trunk from 2012 vs. 2010 version for NCEP RAP.
- New observations assimilated: GOES cloud building, lightning (proxy for radar reflectivity), tower/nacelle/sodar observations, pseudo-PBL moisture obs, soil moisture adjustment within data assimilation, improved radar assimilation.
- The ESRL RAP is used to initialize the 3km High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR)
High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR)
- A experimental 3-km hourly updated nest inside of the 13km Rapid Refresh
(using the 13km RAP as parent model starting 4/14/2011, 13km RUC prior to that date).
- Real-time products from 3km HRRR
- The HRRR is fully dependent on the hourly-updating RAP running at ESRL, being initialized from RAP-ESRL analyses as of 4/14/2011.
- 26 Apr 2012 Current scheduled date for RAP implementation is still set for 1 May 2012 at 12z that day. The last RUC run will be at 11z that day (barring any designation of that day as a Critical Weather Day). See latest NWS TIN bulletin on RAP implementation at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/notification/tin11-53ruc_rapaae.htm
- 27 Mar 2012 Current scheduled date for RAP implementation is now either 1 May or 8 May 2012. It was found that due to a script problem in the NCO version, the RAP had not been assimilating radar reflectivity data in 2012 so a new 30-day evaluation is underway.
- 15 Mar 2012 Updated briefing on Rapid Refresh.
-
28 Dec 2011
Updated Rapid Refresh information (along with information
on future versions of RAP and HRRR) is available
here.
(presented on 7 Dec 2011 at the NCEP Production
Suite Review)
- 30 Nov 2011
A full Technical Implementation Notice (TIN) on the upcoming RAP implementation was issued on 11-30-2011. Testing continues at NCEP/EMC and NOAA/ESRL - 23 Nov 2010 Testing continues at NOAA/ESRL and at NCEP/EMC, now using rotated lat-lon grid, (link also on left). Grids to be available for RAP at NCEP (link also on left).
- 16 Sept 2010 Final testing continuing at NOAA/ESRL, real-time testing underway at NCEP/EMC.
- 12 Nov 2009 Rapid Refresh/RUC review presentation - latest news - PDF
- 1 June 2009 - RR now running with WRFv3.0.1, testing underway with WRFv3.1, using improved version of DFI, upper-level damping, improved version of RUC-Smirnova land-surface model with snow-on-ice (ocean and lakes) treatment.
- RR presentations - Mar 2009 - Alaska Wx Symposium -
pt.1
-
pt.2
- 7 July 2008 - 1h Rapid Refresh cycle is now running with improved reliability, as of last week. Now includes DFI every hour, cloud/hydrometeor analysis. Cold bias removed - problem with ARW-GSI interaction on soil moisture.
- 11 Dec 2007 - Updated summary on Rapid Refresh development/plans presented at NCEP Production Suite Review meeting. RR info starts on slide 35, but the preceding slides on the RUC 2008-upgrade are also very relevant to the Rapid Refresh (radar reflectivity assimilation, TAMDAR, upgrades to Grell-Devenyi convection, RUC land-sfc).
- 10 Nov 2007 - The experimental Rapid Refresh is running only in a shake-down period at this point. There is a 6-h cycle with GSI and WRF (RR versions of both), but not with satellite radiance assimilation yet, and without the RUC/RR cloud analysis yet or other RR enhancements.
- 2 Nov 2007 - Rapid Refresh summary - from RUC/RR Technical Review on 30 Oct 07.
- high-frequency updated (every 1h) short-range weather model forecasts (out to 18h) in support of aviation and other mesoscale weather forecast users
-
high-frequency (every 1h) 3-d objective analyses
over all of North America,
assimilating the following types of observations:
- Commercial aircraft (including moisture data from WVSS-II sensors)
- Profiler related
- Wind profilers (404 and boundary-layer 915 MHz)
- VAD (velocity-azimuth display) winds from NWS WSR-88D radars
- RASS (Radio Acoustic Sounding System)
- Rawinsondes and special dropwinsondes
- Radar reflectivity (3-d)
- Surface
- Surface reporting stations and buoys (including cloud, visibility, current weather)
- Mesonet (defer to RAP version 2)
- Satellite
- AMSU-A/B satellite radiances
- GOES satellite radiances (defer to RAP version 2)
- GPS total precipitable water estimates
- GOES cloud-top data (pressure and temperature)
- GOES high-density visible and IR cloud drift winds
- Experimental
- Lightning - defer to RAPv2 (used in ESRL RAP since Jan 2012)
- Special wind-energy observations - defer to RAPv2 (used in ESRL RAP)
The key features of the Rapid Refresh include:
- Access to real-time and archive RAP grids