Deep learning model based on multi-scale feature fusion for precipitation nowcasting

Abstract. Forecasting heavy precipitation accurately is a challenging task for most deep learning (DL)-based models. To address this, we present a novel DL architecture called “multi-scale feature fusion” (MFF) that can forecast precipitation with a lead time of up to 3 h. The MFF model uses convolution kernels with varying sizes to create multi-scale receptive fields. This helps to capture the movement features of precipitation systems, such as their shape, movement direction, and speed. Additionally, the architecture utilizes the mechanism of discrete probability to reduce uncertainties and forecast errors, enabling it to predict heavy precipitation even at longer lead times. For model training, we use 4 years of radar echo data from 2018 to 2021 and 1 year of data from 2022 for model testing. We compare the MFF model with three existing extrapolative models: time series residual convolution (TSRC), optical flow (OF), and UNet. The results show that MFF achieves superior forecast skills with high probability of detection (POD), low false alarm rate (FAR), small mean absolute error (MAE), and high structural similarity index (SSIM). Notably, MFF can predict high-intensity precipitation fields at 3 h lead time, while the other three models cannot. Furthermore, MFF shows improvement in the smoothing effect of the forecast field, as observed from the results of radially averaged power spectral (RAPS). Our future work will focus on incorporating multi-source meteorological variables, making structural adjustments to the network, and combining them with numerical models to further improve the forecast skills of heavy precipitations at longer lead times.