Southern Hemisphere Medium-Range Forecast Skill and Predictability: A Comparison of Two Operational Models

Abstract

Abstract The skill of two global numerical weather prediction models, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) medium-range forecast model and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational model, has been assessed over the Southern Hemisphere extratropics for much of the 1990s. Forecast skill and circulation predictability are calculated in terms of predicted and observed 500-hPa height fields. The skill of both the NCEP and ECMWF models has increased steadily through the decade. The useful forecast range (mean anomaly correlation at least 0.6) extended out to about day 6 during the late 1990s compared to day 5 in the early 1990s. The ECMWF model generally performed best out to the useful forecast limit, but scores were insignificantly different beyond that. ECMWF forecasts show a gradual increase in variance with forecast interval, while NCEP forecasts show a decrease. For both models, the most predictable wintertime circulation pattern, defined by a singular ...