Why is the european weather model better
European Weather Model vs. American: What's the difference?
the AirCam model is made by the ECMWF
the us model is the GFS made by the US
government both use the same basic data
but get different results based on
software differences and different
equations the American model is free
while access to the European one can
cost up to 150,000 euros a year the
European model thus has more computing
power so we can see more detail the US
version is made on slower computers but
it has improved a lot over the years the
u.s. model does four forecasts a day
which help it fix mistakes but can also
lead to a flip-flopping forecast the
European model does two a day but runs
an intensive system of quality checks
before running its program it also runs
its forecast after the US model giving
it more time to get information to make
a forecast the US model uses 3d
variational data assimilation meaning it
collects data at a precise time and
makes prediction based on that the
European model uses 40 variation so it
collects observations over a period of
hours updating information continuously
before it makes up its forecasts
forecasting isn't an exact science so in
order to make your best guess as to how
the weather will be the different
centers run a bunch of hypotheticals
changing up small variables to figure
out the most common and likely outcome
the US models assembles its forecasts
using 21 different hypothetical
situations the European model uses 51
either way a forecast is more accurate
the closer to the day within 48 hours
you'll usually get a pretty accurate
forecast regardless of the model making
it and besides most meteorologists use a
mixture models when making their
forecasts so whether you're team euro or
team US you're covered
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