Short-Term High-Resolution Weather Forecasting in the City of Khabarovsk, Russia

Experimental short-term numerical weather prediction system based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with grid spacing of 1 km for the city of Khabarovsk, Russia is presented. Single-layer urban canopy parametrization is used in the model runs and takes into consideration urban land use. Urban land surface consists of three types: low-rise, high-rise buildings and industrial zones. Niceties of forecasts’ interpretation in a large city based on data of a high-resolution numerical grid are considered. Simulations of the WRF model with the grid spacing of 1 km have shown better quality of prediction in the city than forecasts on the grid spacing of 5 km for the period of time from June to December of 2023. Mean absolute errors of the forecasting speed and direction of surface wind with a velocity above 10 m/s are 2.9 m/s and 3.2 m/s, and 14∘ and 32∘ and absolute error of the forecasting air temperature is 1.6∘ and 3.1∘ for the WRF model with the grid spacing of 1 and 5 km respectively for the considered period of time.