Cutting-edge supercomputer to make your forecast easier

Monday, December 5, 2016, 4:31 PM - Environment Canada forecasters are about to get a major tech upgrade, according to CBC News.

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The broadcaster says the weather agency has acquired a powerful new supercomputer that will allow for more accurate forecasts. CBC reports the supercomputer was built by IBM under a $430 million contract, awarded earlier in 2016, and forecasters have already been testing it. It will replace the Canadian Forecast Centre's current machine, which is 10 years old and the largest of its kind in Canada.

CBC's exclusive piece on the supercomputer notes the federal government has been tight lipped about the details of the new technology, and the broadcaster seems to have learned of the supercomputer via two presentations by employees of Environment Canada and Shared Services Canada that were delivered at a conference in the U.K. and posted online.

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Meteorologists rely on models, based on atmospheric and other data, to come up with their forecasts. The Weather Network's chief meteorologist, Chris Scott, says they are the core of modern meteorology, and Environment Canada's upgrade will allow computer models to be run at higher resolution.

"In the same way that the best new phones can take amazingly detailed and smooth video, higher resolution weather forecast models see more details which are particularly important in mountainous terrain and along coastlines," Scott says.

Improvements in computing power in recent decades have made for more accurate long-term forecasts as well. Scott says, on average, forecasters gain the ability to "see" one day further into the future every 10 years.

The Weather Network uses data from Environment Canada's forecast models in its own forecasting, as well as models from the U.S. National Centres for Environmental Prediction, and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting. 

"Our meteorologists are able to blend data from all of these leading models in whatever fashion they choose based on the daily weather situation at each location across the country to produce the most accurate local forecast," Scott says.

SOURCE: CBC News