Non-crossing Quantile Regression Neural Network as a Calibration Tool for Ensemble Weather Forecasts

Despite the maturity of ensemble numerical weather prediction(NWP),the resulting forecasts are still,more often than not,under-dispersed.As such,forecast calibration tools have become popular.Among those tools,quantile regression(QR)is highly competitive in terms of both flexibility and predictive performance.Nevertheless,a long-standing problem of QR is quantile crossing,which greatly limits the interpretability of QR-calibrated forecasts.On this point,this study proposes a non-crossing quantile regression neural network(NCQRNN),for calibrating ensemble NWP forecasts into a set of reliable quantile forecasts without crossing.The overarching design principle of NCQRNN is to add on top of the conventional QRNN structure another hidden layer,which imposes a non-decreasing mapping between the combined output from nodes of the last hidden layer to the nodes of the output layer,through a triangular weight matrix with positive entries.The empirical part of the work considers a solar irradiance case study,in which four years of ensemble irradiance forecasts at seven locations,issued by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts,are calibrated via NCQRNN,as well as via an eclectic mix of benchmarking models,ranging from the naïve climatology to the state-of-the-art deep-learning and other non-crossing models.Formal and stringent forecast verification suggests that the forecasts post-processed via NCQRNN attain the maximum sharpness subject to calibration,amongst all competitors.Furthermore,the proposed conception to resolve quantile crossing is remarkably simple yet general,and thus has broad applicability as it can be integrated with many shallow-and deep-learning-based neural networks.

Promising Results Predict Role for Artificial Intelligence in Weather Forecasting

Artificial intelligence(AI)has already demonstrated its proficiency at difficult scientific tasks like predicting how proteins will fold and identifying new astronomical objects in masses of observational data[1].Now,recent results suggest that AI also excels at weather forecasting.For global predictions,GraphCast,an AI system developed by Google subsidiary DeepMind(London,UK),outperforms the state-of-the-art model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF),providing more accurate projections of variables such as temperature and humidity 90%of the time[2,3].Other AI systems,including Pangu-Weather from the Chinese tech company Huawei(Shenzhen,China)[4],can also match or beat traditional global forecasting models.

Short-Term Household Load Forecasting Based on Attention Mechanism and CNN-ICPSO-LSTM

Accurate load forecasting forms a crucial foundation for implementing household demand response plans andoptimizing load scheduling. When dealing with short-term load data characterized by substantial fluctuations,a single prediction model is hard to capture temporal features effectively, resulting in diminished predictionaccuracy. In this study, a hybrid deep learning framework that integrates attention mechanism, convolution neuralnetwork (CNN), improved chaotic particle swarm optimization (ICPSO), and long short-term memory (LSTM), isproposed for short-term household load forecasting. Firstly, the CNN model is employed to extract features fromthe original data, enhancing the quality of data features. Subsequently, the moving average method is used for datapreprocessing, followed by the application of the LSTM network to predict the processed data. Moreover, the ICPSOalgorithm is introduced to optimize the parameters of LSTM, aimed at boosting the model’s running speed andaccuracy. Finally, the attention mechanism is employed to optimize the output value of LSTM, effectively addressinginformation loss in LSTM induced by lengthy sequences and further elevating prediction accuracy. According tothe numerical analysis, the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed hybrid model have been verified. It canexplore data features adeptly, achieving superior prediction accuracy compared to other forecasting methods forthe household load exhibiting significant fluctuations across different seasons.

Improving the Short-Range Precipitation Forecast of Numerical Weather Prediction through a Deep Learning-Based Mask Approach

Due to various technical issues,existing numerical weather prediction(NWP)models often perform poorly at forecasting rainfall in the first several hours.To correct the bias of an NWP model and improve the accuracy of short-range precipitation forecasting,we propose a deep learning-based approach called UNet Mask,which combines NWP forecasts with the output of a convolutional neural network called UNet.The UNet Mask involves training the UNet on historical data from the NWP model and gridded rainfall observations for 6-hour precipitation forecasting.The overlap of the UNet output and the NWP forecasts at the same rainfall threshold yields a mask.The UNet Mask blends the UNet output and the NWP forecasts by taking the maximum between them and passing through the mask,which provides the corrected 6-hour rainfall forecasts.We evaluated UNet Mask on a test set and in real-time verification.The results showed that UNet Mask outperforms the NWP model in 6-hour precipitation prediction by reducing the FAR and improving CSI scores.Sensitivity tests also showed that different small rainfall thresholds applied to the UNet and the NWP model have different effects on UNet Mask's forecast performance.This study shows that UNet Mask is a promising approach for improving rainfall forecasting of NWP models.

Evaluating the Robustness of MDSS Maintenance Forecasts Using Connected Vehicle Data

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) adopted the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) for user-defined plowing segments in the winter of 2008-2009. Since then, many new data sources, including connected vehicle data, enhanced weather data, and fleet telematics, have been integrated into INDOT winter operations activities. The objective of this study was to use these new data sources to conduct a systematic evaluation of the robustness of the MDSS forecasts. During the 2023-2024 winter season, 26 unique MDSS forecast data attributes were collected at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 23-hour intervals from the observed storm time for 6 roadway segments during 13 individual storms. In total, over 888,000 MDSS data points were archived for this evaluation. This study developed novel visualizations to compare MDSS forecasts to multiple other independent data sources, including connected vehicle data, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather data, road friction data and snowplow telematics. Three Indiana storms, with varying characteristics and severity, were analyzed in detailed case studies. Those storms occurred on January 6th, 2024, January 13th, 2024 and February 16th, 2024. Incorporating these visualizations into winter weather after-action reports increases the robustness of post-storm performance analysis and allows road weather stakeholders to better understand the capabilities of MDSS. The results of this analysis will provide a framework for future MDSS evaluations and implementations as well as training tools for winter operation stakeholders in Indiana and beyond.

Seasonal Short-Term Load Forecasting for Power Systems Based onModal Decomposition and Feature-FusionMulti-Algorithm Hybrid Neural NetworkModel

To enhance the refinement of load decomposition in power systems and fully leverage seasonal change information to further improve prediction performance,this paper proposes a seasonal short-termload combination prediction model based on modal decomposition and a feature-fusion multi-algorithm hybrid neural network model.Specifically,the characteristics of load components are analyzed for different seasons,and the corresponding models are established.First,the improved complete ensemble empirical modal decomposition with adaptive noise(ICEEMDAN)method is employed to decompose the system load for all four seasons,and the new sequence is obtained through reconstruction based on the refined composite multiscale fuzzy entropy of each decomposition component.Second,the correlation between different decomposition components and different features is measured through the max-relevance and min-redundancy method to filter out the subset of features with strong correlation and low redundancy.Finally,different components of the load in different seasons are predicted separately using a bidirectional long-short-term memory network model based on a Bayesian optimization algorithm,with a prediction resolution of 15 min,and the predicted values are accumulated to obtain the final results.According to the experimental findings,the proposed method can successfully balance prediction accuracy and prediction time while offering a higher level of prediction accuracy than the current prediction methods.The results demonstrate that the proposedmethod can effectively address the load power variation induced by seasonal differences in different regions.

Sensitivity of Medium-Range Weather Forecasts to the Use of Reference Atmosphere

In this paper, the authors develop the earlier work of Chen Jiabin et al. (1986). In order to reduce spectral truncation errors, the reference atmosphere has been introduced in ECMWF model, and the spectrally-represented variables, temperature, geopotential height and orography, are replaced by their deviations from the reference atmosphere. Two modified semi- implicit schemes have been proposed to alleviate the computational instability due to the introduction of reference atmosphere. Concerning the deviation of surface geopotential height from reference atmosphere, an exact computational formulation has been used instead of the approximate one in the earlier work. To re duce aliasing errors in the computations of the deviation of the surface geopotential height, a spectral fit has been used slightly to modify the original Gaussian grid-point values of orography.A series of experiments has been performed in order to assess the impact of the reference atmosphere on ECMWF medium- range forecasts at the resolution T21, T42 and T63. The results we have obtained reveal that the reference atmosphere introduced in ECMWF spectral model is generally beneficial to the mean statistical scores of 1000-200 hPa height 10-day forecasts over the globe. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is a clear improvement for T21, T42 and T63 throughout the 10-day forecast period. In the Northern Hemisphere, the impact of the reference atmos phere on anomaly correlation is positive for resolution T21, a very slightly damaging at T42 and almost neutral at T63 in the range of day 1 to day 4. Beyond the day 4 there is a clear improvement at all resolutions.

Artificial Intelligence Based Solar Radiation Predictive Model Using Weather Forecasts

Solar energy has gained attention in the past two decades,since it is an effective renewable energy source that causes no harm to the environment.Solar Irradiation Prediction(SIP)is essential to plan,schedule,and manage photovoltaic power plants and grid-based power generation systems.Numerous models have been proposed for SIP in the literature while such studies demand huge volumes of weather data about the target location for a lengthy period of time.In this scenario,commonly available Artificial Intelligence(AI)technique can be trained over past values of irradiance as well as weatherrelated parameters such as temperature,humidity,wind speed,pressure,and precipitation.Therefore,in current study,the authors aimed at developing a solar irradiance prediction model by integrating big data analytics with AI models(BDAAI-SIP)using weather forecasting data.In order to perform long-term collection of weather data,Hadoop MapReduce tool is employed.The proposed solar irradiance prediction model operates on different stages.Primarily,data preprocessing take place using various sub processes such as data conversion,missing value replacement,and data normalization.Besides,Elman Neural Network(ENN),a type of feedforward neural network is also applied for predictive analysis.It is divided into input layer,hidden layer,loadbearing layer,and output layer.To overcome the insufficiency of ENN in choosing the value of weights and hidden layer neuron count,Mayfly Optimization(MFO)algorithm is applied.In order to validate the performance of the proposed model,a series of experiments was conducted.The experimental values infer that the proposed model outperformed other methods used for comparison.

Quantum Atmospheric Biophysics: A Comparison of Four Weather Stations in India on Average Monthly Temperatures Since 1892 and Forecasts to 2150

The identification method revealed asymmetric wavelets of dynamics, as fractal quanta of the behavior of the surface air layer at a height of 2 m, according to the average monthly temperature at four weather stations in India (Srinagar, Jolhpur, New Delhi and Guvahati). For Srinagar station, the maximum for all years is observed in July, for Jolhpur and New Delhi stations it shifts to June, and for Guvahati it shifts to August. With a high correlation coefficient of 0.9659, 0.8640 and 0.8687, a three-factor model of the form was obtained. The altitude, longitude and latitude of the station are given sequentially. The hottest month for Srinagar over a period of 130 years is in July. At the same time, the temperature increased from 23.4 °C to 24.2 °C (by 3.31%). A noticeable decrease in the intensity of heat flows in June occurred at Jolhpur (over 125 years, a decrease from 36.2 °C to 33.3 °C, or by 8.71%) and New Delhi (over 90 years, a decrease from 35.1 °C to 32.4 °C, or by 7.69%). For almost 120 years, Guvahati has experienced complex climate changes: In 1902, the hottest month was July, but in 2021 it has shifted to August. The increase in temperature at various stations is considered. At Srinagar station in 2021, compared to 1892, temperatures increased in June, September and October. Guvahati has a 120-year increase in December, January, March and April. Temperatures have risen in February, March and April at Jolhpur in 125 years, but have risen in February and March at New Delhi Station in 90 years. Despite the presence of tropical evergreen forests, the area around Guvahati Station is expected to experience strong warming.

Available parking space occupancy change characteristics and short-term forecasting model

Based on an available parking space occupancy （APSO） survey conducted in Nanjing, China, an APSO forecasting model is proposed. The APSO survey results indicate that the time series of APSO with different time-sections are periodical and self-similar, and the fluctuation of the APSO increases with the decrease in time-sections. Taking the short-time change behavior into account, an APSO forecasting model combined wavelet analysis and a weighted Markov chain is presented. In this model, an original APSO time series is first decomposed by wavelet analysis, and the results include low frequency signals representing the basic trends of APSO and several high frequency signals representing disturbances of the APSO. Then different Markov models are used to forecast the changes of low and high frequency signals, respectively. Finally, integrating the predicted results induces the final forecasted APSO. A case study verifies the applicability of the proposed model. The comparisons between measured and forecasted results show that the model is a competent model and its accuracy relies on real-time update of the APSO database.

Comparison of the City Water Consumption Short-Term Forecasting Methods

There are a lot of methods in city water consumption short-term forecasting both inside and outside the country. But among these methods there exist many advantages and shortcomings in model establishing, solving and predicting accuracy, speed, applicability. This article draws lessons from other realm mature methods after many years′ study. It′s systematically studied and compared to predict the water consumption in accuracy, speed, effect and applicability among the time series triangle function method, artificial neural network method, gray system theories method, wavelet analytical method.

A Model Output Machine Learning Method for Grid Temperature Forecasts in the Beijing Area

In this paper, the model output machine learning (MOML) method is proposed for simulating weather consultation, which can improve the forecast results of numerical weather prediction (NWP). During weather consultation, the forecasters obtain the final results by combining the observations with the NWP results and giving opinions based on their experience. It is obvious that using a suitable post-processing algorithm for simulating weather consultation is an interesting and important topic. MOML is a post-processing method based on machine learning, which matches NWP forecasts against observations through a regression function. By adopting different feature engineering of datasets and training periods, the observational and model data can be processed into the corresponding training set and test set. The MOML regression function uses an existing machine learning algorithm with the processed dataset to revise the output of NWP models combined with the observations, so as to improve the results of weather forecasts. To test the new approach for grid temperature forecasts, the 2-m surface air temperature in the Beijing area from the ECMWF model is used. MOML with different feature engineering is compared against the ECMWF model and modified model output statistics (MOS) method. MOML shows a better numerical performance than the ECMWF model and MOS, especially for winter. The results of MOML with a linear algorithm, running training period, and dataset using spatial interpolation ideas, are better than others when the forecast time is within a few days. The results of MOML with the Random Forest algorithm, year-round training period, and dataset containing surrounding gridpoint information, are better when the forecast time is longer.

A STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF MICROPHYSICAL PROCESSES ON TYPHOON NIDA(2016) USING A NEW DOUBLE-MOMENT MICROPHYSICS SCHEME IN THE WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING MODEL

The basic structure and cloud features of Typhoon Nida(2016) are simulated using a new microphysics scheme(Liuma) within the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF) model. Typhoon characteristics simulated with the Liuma microphysics scheme are compared with observations and those simulated with a commonly-used microphysics scheme(WSM6). Results show that using different microphysics schemes does not significantly alter the track of the typhoon but does significantly affect the intensity and the cloud structure of the typhoon. Results also show that the vertical distribution of cloud hydrometeors and the horizontal distribution of peripheral rainband are affected by the microphysics scheme. The mixing ratios of rain water and graupel correlate highly with the vertical velocity component and equivalent potential temperature at the typhoon eye-wall region. According to the simulation with WSM 6 scheme,it is likely that the very low typhoon central pressure results from the positive feedback between hydrometeors and typhoon intensity. As the ice-phase hydrometeors are mostly graupel in the Liuma microphysics scheme, further improvement in this aspect is required.

A forecasting model for wave heights based on a long short-term memory neural network

To explore new operational forecasting methods of waves,a forecasting model for wave heights at three stations in the Bohai Sea has been developed.This model is based on long short-term memory(LSTM)neural network with sea surface wind and wave heights as training samples.The prediction performance of the model is evaluated,and the error analysis shows that when using the same set of numerically predicted sea surface wind as input,the prediction error produced by the proposed LSTM model at Sta.N01 is 20%,18%and 23%lower than the conventional numerical wave models in terms of the total root mean square error(RMSE),scatter index(SI)and mean absolute error(MAE),respectively.Particularly,for significant wave height in the range of 3–5 m,the prediction accuracy of the LSTM model is improved the most remarkably,with RMSE,SI and MAE all decreasing by 24%.It is also evident that the numbers of hidden neurons,the numbers of buoys used and the time length of training samples all have impact on the prediction accuracy.However,the prediction does not necessary improve with the increase of number of hidden neurons or number of buoys used.The experiment trained by data with the longest time length is found to perform the best overall compared to other experiments with a shorter time length for training.Overall,long short-term memory neural network was proved to be a very promising method for future development and applications in wave forecasting.

Probability Forecast of Regional Landslide Based on Numerical Weather Forecast

The regional forecast of landslide is one of the key points of hazard mitigation. It is also a hot and difficult point in research field. To solve this problem has become urgent task along with Chinese economy fast development. This paper analyzes the principle of regional landslide forecast and the factors for forecasting. The method of a combination of Information Value Model and Extension Model has been put forward to be as the forecast model. Using new result of Numerical Weather Foreeast Research and that combination model, we discuss the implementation feasibility of regional landslide forecast. Finally, with the help of Geographic Information System, an operation system for southwest of China landslide forecast has been developed. It can carry out regional landslide forecast daily and has been pilot run in NMC. Since this is the first time linking theoretical research with meteorological service, further works are needed to enhance it.

MULTIMODEL CONSENSUS FORECASTING OF LOW TEMPERATURE AND ICY WEATHER OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CHINA IN EARLY 2008

Based on the daily mean temperature and 24-h accumulated total precipitation over central and southern China, the features and the possible causes of the extreme weather events with low temperature and icing conditions,which occurred in the southern part of China during early 2008, are investigated in this study. In addition, multimodel consensus forecasting experiments are conducted by using the ensemble forecasts of ECMWF, JMA, NCEP and CMA taken from the TIGGE archives. Results show that more than a third of the stations in the southern part of China were covered by the extremely abundant precipitation with a 50-a return period, and extremely low temperature with a 50-a return period occurred in the Guizhou and western Hunan province as well. For the 24- to 216-h surface temperature forecasts, the bias-removed multimodel ensemble mean with running training period(R-BREM) has the highest forecast skill of all individual models and multimodel consensus techniques. Taking the RMSEs of the ECMWF 96-h forecasts as the criterion, the forecast time of the surface temperature may be prolonged to 192 h over the southeastern coast of China by using the R-BREM technique. For the sprinkle forecasts over central and southern China, the R-BREM technique has the best performance in terms of threat scores(TS) for the 24- to 192-h forecasts except for the 72-h forecasts among all individual models and multimodel consensus techniques. For the moderate rain, the forecast skill of the R-BREM technique is superior to those of individual models and multimodel ensemble mean.

Theory Study and Application of the BP-ANN Method for Power Grid Short-Term Load Forecasting

Aiming at the low accuracy problem of power system short-term load forecasting by traditional methods, a back-propagation artificial neural network （BP-ANN） based method for short-term load forecasting is presented in this paper. The forecast points are related to prophase adjacent data as well as the periodical long-term historical load data. Then the short-term load forecasting model of Shanxi Power Grid （China） based on BP-ANN method and correlation analysis is established. The simulation model matches well with practical power system load, indicating the BP-ANN method is simple and with higher precision and practicality.

An Implementation of Full Cycle Strategy Using Dynamic Blending for Rapid Refresh Short-range Weather Forecasting in China

The partial cycle(PC)strategy has been used in many rapid refresh cycle systems(RRC)for regional short-range weather forecasting.Since the strategy periodically reinitializes the regional model(RM)from the global model(GM)forecasts to correct the large-scale drift,it has replaced the traditional full cycle(FC)strategy in many RRC systems.However,the extra spin-up in the PC strategy increases the computer burden on RRC and generates discontinuous smallscale systems among cycles.This study returns to the FC strategy but with initial fields generated by dynamic blending(DB)and data assimilation(DA).The DB ingests the time-varied large-scale information from the GM to the RM to generate less-biased background fields.Then the DA is performed.We applied the new FC strategy in a series of 7-day batch forecasts with the 3-hour cycle in July 2018,and February,April,and October 2019 over China using a Weather Research and Forecast(WRF)model-based RRC.A comparison shows that the new FC strategy results in less model bias than the PC strategy in most state variables and improves the forecast skills for moderate and light precipitation.The new FC strategy also allows the model to reach a balanced state earlier and gives favorable forecast continuity between adjacent cycles.Hence,this new FC strategy has potential to be applied in RRC forecast systems to replace the currently used PC strategy.

Evaluation of Tianji and ECMWF high-resolution precipitation forecasts for extreme rainfall event in Henan in July 2021

The extreme rainfall event of July 17 to 22, 2021 in Henan Province, China, led to severe urban waterlogging and flood disasters. This study investigated the performance of high-resolution weather forecasts in predicting this extreme event and the feasibility of weather forecast-based hydrological forecasts. To achieve this goal, high-resolution precipitation forecasts from the Tianji weather system and the forecast system of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) were evaluated with the spatial verification metrics of structure, amplitude, and location. The results showed that Tianji weather forecasts accurately predicted the amplitude of 12-h accumulated precipitation with a lead time of 12 h. The location and structure of the rainfall areas in Tianji forecasts were closer to the observations than ECMWF forecasts. Tianji hourly precipitation forecasts were also more accurate than ECMWF hourly forecasts, especially at lead times shorter than 8 h. The precipitation forecasts were used as the inputs to a hydrological model to evaluate their hydrological applications. The results showed that the runoff forecasts driven by Tianji weather forecasts could effectively predict the extreme flood event. The runoff forecasts driven by Tianji forecasts were more accurate than those driven by ECMWF forecasts in terms of amplitude and location. This study demonstrates that high-resolution weather forecasts and corresponding hydrological forecasts can provide valuable information in advance for disaster warnings and leave time for people to act on the event. The results encourage further hydrological applications of high-resolution weather forecasts, such as Tianji weather forecasts, in the future.

Shallow Analysis on the First Spring Soaking Rain Weather and Its Precipitation Enhancement Potential Forecast in Jinzhou Area in 2010

[Objective] The research aimed to study the first spring soaking rain weather and its precipitation enhancement potential forecast in Jinzhou area in 2010. [Method] From the weather situation characteristics, main influence system, forecast service, artificial precipitation enhancement operation and so on, the first spring soaking rain weather process in Jinzhou area in 2010 was summarized comprehensively. [Result] The weather situation characteristics of soaking rain were that the high-altitude cold air was weak, and the low-level warm wet airflow was obvious. The main influence systems were the high-altitude trough, the high-altitude shear line and the ground Mongolian cyclone. The ground inverted trough system advanced northward and got through with the same phase of Mongolian cyclone, which provided the certain energy and water vapor for the precipitation in Jinzhou area. It was one of key reasons for generating the soaking rain. The numerical forecast product played the certain guidance role in the forecast service work. The situation field forecast was accurate, but the precipitation forecast deviation was big. Therefore, the forecast service couldn’t depend on the numerical forecast product simply and totally, and should combine with the actual monitoring data to analyze and apply comprehensively. [Conclusion] The research played the safeguarding role in carrying out the large-scale artificial precipitation enhancement operation successfully in the whole area of Jinzhou.