U.S. model supercomputers get an upgrade

Twin supercomputers Dogwood and Cactus. NOAA.

Last week NOAA introduced the newest weather and climate supercomputers with an operational run of the National Blend of Models.

The new supercomputers will provide a significant upgrade to computing capacity, storage space and interconnect speed of the system.

The new supercomputers will allow forecasters to better forecast small-scale features like severe thunderstorms.

Additionally, there will be an upgrade to the U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) this fall and the launch of a new hurricane forecast model that is expected to be in operation for the 2023 hurricane season.

These new computers are three times faster than the older system.