• Meteorology is all about Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Almost every meteorology topic is related to GIS.

  Meteorological models are the starting point in meteorology, however, models have a limited “reality”. The model grid represents an average of a fairly large area. With the use of high resolution topographical information, the model output can be refined further.

  With downscaling techniques the MOS output can be used at other locations with similar topographical properties. Gridded MOS uses both model and MOS data to create a high resolution forecast on a regular grid.

Downscaling

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• In order to create MOS, an historical dataset is required. However, weather stations producing reliable data are not available globally, and MeteoGroup has developed a method called downscaling to obtain a forecast for every location on the globe.

  A high resolution topographic dataset is used to determine the surrounding area and determine which stations with real MOS equations can be used to generate a MOS for the new location.

Gridded MOS

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• Using  downscaling techniques we are able to generate a MOS forecast for a regular grid, similar to a model grid but with the advantages of MOS. The resolution can be adjusted to the customers’ needs. Just like MOS, new elements can be introduced and more time steps made available.

  The image below shows a panel with a high resolution model (Hirlam 0.1°x0.1°) on the left and gridded MOS on the right. The gridded MOS shows much more detail due to the higher topographical resolution. 

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  An example of the weather code on a grid. The WMO symbols for the weather type are used to show the expected weather type. This is a picture of the current situation.