Common Weather Terms

00z/12z: UTC Time (00z, 01z, ... 06z, ... 12z, ... 18z, ... 23z)

This two-digit number followed by a lower-case "z" is an abbreviation used in meteorology to represent a time of day. The "z" stands for Zulu time, more commonly known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). In meteorology the abbreviation often refers to the time at which a model run is initialized. For example, the 00z ECMWF uses observations from midnight UTC to create the initial conditions at hour 0 of the run. Unlike many local time zones, UTC does not observe daylight savings. This means that 00z is 8 p.m. EDT in the summer and 7 p.m. EST in the winter.

ACC: Anomaly Correlation Coefficient

ACC is one of the most widely-used measures for verifying a spatial forecast. It is the correlation between the forecast anomaly and observed anomaly (departure from climatological average). The more correlated these two fields are, the better a forecast is considered.

ACE: Accumulated Cyclone Energy

A calculation created by Dr. William Gray at Colorado State University that approximates the total energy released by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Seasonally, it is referenced as a sum of all the storms to provide a metric as to how active a season is.

AMM: Atlantic Meridional Mode

The AMM is the dominant source of coupled ocean-atmosphere variability in the Atlantic. The AMM index is based on sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and 10m winds.

AMO: Atlantic Multidecal Oscillation

The AMO is a series of long-duration changes in the sea surface temperature of the North Atlantic Ocean (0° to 70°N), with cool and warm phases lasting 20-40 years at a time. The AMO can affect air temperature and rainfall across much of the Northern Hemisphere, especially in North America and Europe. The warm phase of the AMO is associated with increased frequency of North American droughts and severe Atlantic hurricanes.

AO: Arctic Oscillation

The AO is an oscillation of pressure patterns in the Northern Hemisphere. The negative phase is characterized by high pressure over the arctic and lower pressure over the mid-latitudes, while the positive phase is characterized by the opposite. During winter, the negative phase allows cold air to push southward into populated portions of the United States and Europe.

CAA: Cold Air Advection

CAA is the movement of cold air into a region by wind. This process causes the region to cool down.

CAD: Cold Air Damming

CAD is a setup where a pre-existing cold air becomes trapped near the surface beneath a layer of warm air as it enters a region. This is often observed in winter with arctic air masses east of the Appalachians, anywhere from New England as far south as Georgia. This setup will often result in sleet and freezing rain.

CAPE: Convective Available Potential Energy

CAPE is an index used to predict severe thunderstorms. It is a measure of the energy available in the atmosphere for convection (thunderstorms), also known as instability. One can expect a high CAPE value (>1000 J/kg) on a hot and humid day, which in combination with other conditions signals a risk of severe thunderstorms.

CDAS: Climate Data Assimilation System

CDAS is a climate analysis data product produced by NOAA.

CONUS: The Contiguous United States

CONUS refers to the mainland United States, that is the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia.

CPHC: Central Pacific Hurricane Center

The CPHC is an agency under NCEP (under NOAA) responsible for forecasting tropical weather in the Central Pacific (west of 140º and east of 180º), including Hawaii. The CPHC produces official watches, warnings, forecasts, and analyses of tropical cyclones in this region.

CVA: Cyclonic Vorticity Advection

CVA is the movement of cyclonic vorticity into a region by wind. This is also known as positive vorticity advection (PVA) in the Northern Hemisphere and negative vorticity advection (NVA) in the Southern Hemisphere. Cyclonic vorticity is the behavior of wind generally associated with storms (i.e. the counter-clockwise spin in the N Hemisphere). When cyclonic vorticity enters a region it forces air in the region to rise in the atmosphere and encourages the formation of clouds, precipitation and storms.

DFN: Departure From Normal (anomaly)

DFN is the departure from normal. Normal is usually defined as the climatological average over some range of years for a given region, time of year, and time of day. DFN is also known as the anomaly.

ENSO: El Nino-Southern Oscillation

ENSO is an oscillation in the surface pressure and ocean temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean. The warm phase is known as El Niño and is characterized by warm ocean temperatures and lower pressure in the Eastern Pacific, and cold phase is called La Niña and is characterized by the opposite. ENSO affects the location of the Jet Stream over the Pacific and North America and in turn storm tracks, along with global precipitation and temperature patterns. Understanding the state of ENSO aids in snowfall, severe weather, and tropical cyclone forecasting. We use the NINO 3.4 (5ºN-5ºS and 170-120ºW) SST anomalies as the measure for ENSO with anomalies >0.5ºC for three consecutive months as the threshold. Alternatives to NINO 3.4 include MEI and SOI.

EPAC/WPAC: East Pacific/West Pacific

EPAC is an abbreviation of East Pacific and WPAC an abbreviation of West Pacific. 180º is used as the division between the two with the EPAC bordering the Americas and the WPAC bordering Asia.

EPO: Eastern Pacific Oscillation

The EPO is an oscillation of a dipole pattern in the eastern Pacific, similar to the NAO in the Atlantic. There is a tendency for heights/pressures/temperatures to be higher to the north and lower to the south in the negative phase and lower to the north and higher to the south in the positive phase. The negative phase corresponds with widespread cooling over central and eastern North America and the positive phase with widespread warming over the same area.

ITCZ: Intertropical Convergence Zone

The ITCZ is a region near the equator, where winds from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres meet. This convergence of wind, along with the great amount of hear and moisture in the tropics creates a regions of thunderstorms that is the origin of many tropical cyclones. The ITCZ moves north during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and south during its winter.

MDR: Main Development Region

Area of the Tropical Atlantic roughly from off the African Coast to the central Caribbean where tropical cyclones tend to form with the most frequency.

MEI: Multivariate ENSO Index

The MEI is an index used to monitor ENSO. The index is based on observations over the tropical Pacific of the following variables: sea-level pressure, zonal and meridional components of surface wind, sea surface temperature, surface air temperature, and total cloudiness in the sky.

Meteogram:

A meteogram is a graph of one or more forecast or observed meteorological variables over time for a particular location.

MJO: Madden Julian Oscillation

The MJO is the largest pattern of weather in the tropics in the 30- to 90-day time frame. It manifests as an eastward tracking wave that enhances and suppresses rainfall as it passes. The MJO index has 8 different stages, each corresponding to the region of the tropics where rainfall is enhanced. The MJO can also affect temperature patterns in the United States and periods of tropical activity in both the Pacific and Atlantic.

MRMS: Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor System

MRMS is an integration of radar networks, surface and upper air observations, lightning detection systems, satellite observations, and forecast models across the U.S. and Canada.

MSLP: Mean Sea Level Pressure

MSLP is the pressure at sea level or (when measured at a given elevation on land) the station pressure reduced to sea level assuming an isothermal layer at the station temperature.

NAO: North Atlantic Oscillation

The NAO is an oscillation in the pressure pattern over the high latitudes and central latitudes of the North Atlantic. The negative phase of the NAO is characterized by a general weakening of the semi-permanent high and low pressure systems in the north Atlantic, and the positive phase is characterized by the opposite. During winter, forecasters associate the negative phase with a slower jet stream, which allows colder conditions in both the US and Europe and stronger storms in the eastern US.

NWP: Numerical Weather Prediction

NWP is a method of weather forecasting that uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to predict the weather based on current weather conditions. It has become a key component of modern weather forecasting.

OISST: Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature

OISST is a high-resolution global SST analysis product that integrates a variety of remote-sensing, ship, and buoy data. The dataset is used for initial conditions in weather models. OISST was developed by NOAA.

PDO: Pacific Decadal Oscillation

The PDO is an oscillation in the climate of the Northern Hemisphere Pacific, with each phase generally lasts around 20 to 30 years. The cold phase features cooler ocean temperatures in the Eastern Pacific and warmer ocean temperatures in the western part of the Pacific. The opposite occurs during the warm phase. The PDO is relevant to global climate and climate change as it can affect temperature and weather globally. Additionally, the PDO affects ENSO, with cold PDO favoring La Niñas and the warm phase favoring El Niños, both in strength and duration.

PNA: The Pacific-North American teleconnection pattern

The PNA is a pattern in the behavior of pressure systems over the northern Pacific. The PNA is defined by a set of four features in the 500mb height anomalies. The positive phase is characterized by negative anomalies south of the Alaska and the southeastern U.S. and positive anomalies over Hawaii and the Rocky Mountains. The negative phase is characterized by the opposite. The positive phase is associated with warmth in northwestern North America and cold in southeastern North America, especially during winter. The negative phase is associated with the opposite.

PV: Potential Vorticity

Potential vorticity is a very well conserved field in the atmosphere, meaning that if the PV field and wind field are known at one point in time, the PV field can be predicted very well at a point in the future. This makes PV a very useful forecasting tool for meteorologists.

PVU: Potential Vorticity Unit

Potential vorticity units are the standard units used for potential vorticity. The units are defined as 10^-6 K m^2 / kg s .

SMFR: Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer

SFMR is a remote-sensing technology used to determine surface winds speeds over the ocean by using visual patterns in the sea foam that the winds create. The technology attempts to observe continuous measurements of surface winds from where it is attached to the wing of each NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft.

SOI: Southern Oscillation Index

The SOI is an index used to measure ENSO conditions (El Niño vs La Niña). It is computed from difference normalized surface level pressure anomalies at Tahiti and Darwin, Australia. Negative values of the SOI indicate El Niño conditions, and positive values indicate La Niña conditions. During weaker ENSO events, the SOI can oscillate positive and negative as MJO waves pass.

SST: Sea Surface Temperature

SST is the temperature of the water at the ocean's surface.

TCHP: Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential

TCHP is a measure of the heat contained in the top layer of the ocean. It is a useful metric of the amount of energy available to a tropical cyclone if it were to pass over an area of ocean. More specifically, TCHP is the vertical integral of temperature from the ocean surface to the depth at which the temperature drops below 26ºC.

Teleconnection:

In meteorology, a teleconnection is a correlation between climate anomalies (or sets of anomalies) over large distances (typically thousands of kilometers).

THC: Thermohaline Circulation

The Thermohaline Circulation is an intricate system of ocean currents below 100m in depth from the ocean surface. It is driven by temperature (thermo) and salt-concentration or salinity (haline) differences. The portion of the circulation in the northern Atlantic is particularly important to the climate, and is associated with the Atlantic Multidecal Oscillation (AMO). The AMO's warm phase speeds up the circulation increasing hurricane activity and ice melt in the Arctic.

TNA: Tropical North Atlantic Index

The TNA is an index defined by the monthly SST anomaly west of Africa in the tropical Atlantic. Many Atlantic hurricanes originate in this region.

WAA: Warm Air Advection

WAA is the movement of warm air into a region by wind. This process causes the region to warm up.

WPO: Western Pacific Oscillation

The WPO is an oscillation in the pressure pattern of the North Pacific. The positive phase of the WPO pattern is associated with warmth over the subtropical western Northern-Hemisphere Pacific in winter and spring, and with cold over eastern Siberia in all seasons. The positive phase is also associated with increased precipitation in all seasons over the northern Pacific, and decreased precipitation across the subtropical Northern-Hemisphere Pacific, especially during the winter and spring.

Weather Models

ARW: Advanced Research WRF

The ARW is a short-term mesoscale model run by NCEP, covering CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The model is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, and is run as a standalone model at 00z and 12z with two configurations (ARW and ARW2) out to 48 hours, and as part of the SREF at 03z, 09z, 15z, and 21z out to 87 hours.

BRAMS: Brazilian Regional Atmospheric Modeling System

BRAMS is a medium-range regional model based on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) originally developed at Colorado State University (CSU). It is run by Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos (CPTEC/INPE), the Brazilian weather service, at 00z each day out to 180 hours.

Canadian: Global Deterministic Prediction System

The Canadian model informally refers to the Global Deterministic Prediction System (GDPS) model run by Environment Canada. The model is also referred to as the CMC (Canadian Meteorological Center) The model is based on the Global Environmental Multiscale Model (GEM). The GDPS is a medium-range global model run at 00z and 12z out to 144 hours. There are also 21 ensemble members, also based on the GEM, run at 00z and 12z out to 384 hours.

CanSIPS: Canadian Seasonal and Interannual Prediction System

CanSIPS is a long-range global weather model run by Environment Canada. It is run on the first of every month out to 1 year.

CFSv2: The Climate Forecasting System version 2

The CFS is a long-range global weather model run by NCEP. It is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to 45 days (extended) and at 00z out to 4 months (seasonal). It is a fully coupled model representing the interaction between the Earth's oceans, land and atmosphere.

CMAQ: Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system

CMAQ is a short-term air quality model run by NCEP. The model is similar to a weather model but also has the capability to forecast the concentration of pollutants as they spread through the atmosphere and fall back to the Earth's surface. CMAQ is run at 00z and 18z out to 6 hours, and 06z and 12z out to 72 hours.

ECMWF: European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts

The ECMWF is a medium-range global model run by the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts. The model is run at 00z, 06z, 12z and 12z. The center produces a deterministic forecast (also known as HRES) out to 240 hours and 51 ensemble forecasts out to 360 hours at 00z/12z. Forecasts are out to 90 hours (deterministic) and 144 hours (ensemble) at 06z/18z. Many consider the ECMWF model as the best in the world due to its accuracy in medium range forecasting. An extended-range forecast of the ensemble is run out to 46 days on Monday and Thursday of each week and a seasonal forecast system is run out to 6 months on the 5th of each month.

FV3: Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere dynamical core

The FV3 is a dynamical weather model core developed by NOAA. A weather model's dynamical core models the motion of air and is a vital component. This dynamical core is now used in NCEP's GFS, GEFS, and WRF FV3 (or HRW-FV3) models.

GEFS: Global Ensemble Forecasting System

The GEFS is a medium-range ensemble global model run by NCEP. The model is run at 00z, 06z, 12z and 12z out to 385 hours. The 31 members are meant to be the ensemble counterpart to NCEP's GFS, though the two models have different update schedules and do not necessarily reflect the same underlying model physics.

GFS: Global Forecasting System

The GFS is a medium-range global model run by NCEP. The model is run at 00z, 06z, 12z and 12z. All forecasts extend to 16 days.

HMON: Hurricanes in a Multi-scale Ocean-coupled Non-hydrostatic model

The HWRF is a version of the NMMB specialized for tropical cyclone forecasting. It was developed by NCEP. The model is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to hour 126 for any tropical cyclones deemed impactful enough to warrant the use of computing resources.

HRDPS: High-Resolution Deterministic Prediction System

The HRDPS is a short-term mesoscale model run by Environment Canada, covering Canada and the northern United States. The RDPS is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to 48 hours at a resolution of 2.5km. The model is based on the Global Environmental Multiscale Model (GEM).

HRRR: High-Resolution Rapid Refresh Model

The HRRR is a short-term high-resolution mesoscale model run by NOAA at the top of every hour out to 18 hours and at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to 48 hours. It is notable as a very high resolution (3km) model with a very quick update cycle (every hour) that incorporates real-time radar data.

HWRF: Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting Model

The HWRF is a version of the WRF specialized for tropical cyclone forecasting. It was developed by NCEP. The model is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to hour 126 for any tropical cyclones deemed impactful enough to warrant the use of computing resources.

ICON: Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic model

The ICON is a medium-range global model run by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). The model is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to 120 hours. There is also a regional version of the model that covers Europe. The regional ICON is run with a resolution of 7km versus the 13km of the global model.

JMA: Japan Meteorological Agency Global Spectral Model

The JMA or Global Spectral Model (GSM) is a medium-range global model run by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The model is run at 00z and 12z out to 192 hours.

NAM: North American Mesoscale Model

The NAM is a short-term mesoscale model run by NCEP. The model is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, and is run at two resolutions (3km and 12km). The models covers CONUS, Alaska, and Hawaii at both resolutions and much of North America, the Pacific, and the Atlantic at 12km. The NAM is run at 00z, 06z, 12z and 18z out to 60 hours (3km) and 84 hours (12km). This model is used for short-term and mesoscale forecasting because its resolution is higher than the resolution of the global models.

NASA_GEOS: NASA Goddard Earth Observing System model v5

NASA GEOS is a short- to medium-range global weather model. It is run at 00z out to 240 hours, 06z and 18z out to 30 hours, and 12z out to 120 hours. The model is run by NASA to capture not just meteorological processes, but also other physical, chemical and biological processes. For this reason, it provides useful forecast fields that are often excluded from other models, such as dust optical thickness and wildfire smoke.

NBM: National Blend of Models

The NBM is a multi-model blend of calibrated forecast guidance developed by NWS that incorporates both weather model data from NOAA and other sources. It is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to 264 hours.

NDFD: National Digital Forecast Database

NDFD is a gridded forecast of various weather variables that incorporates forecasts from NWS field offices, NCEP into a gridded forecast that covers CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. It is not technically a weather model as it takes human forecasts as input.

NMB: Nonhydrostatic Multiscale Model on the B-grid

The NMB or NEMS-NMMB is a short-term mesoscale model run NCEP, covering North America. The model is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, and is used in the NAM and for 13 of the 26 SREF members. It is run as part of the SREF at 03z, 09z, 15z, and 21z out to 87 hours.

RDPS: Regional Deterministic Prediction System

The RDPS is a short-term mesoscale model run by Environment Canada. The RDPS is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to 84 hours at a resolution of 10km. A 2.5km-resolution version of the model called the High-Resolution Deterministic Prediction System (HRDPS) is also run at 00z, 06z, 12z, 18z out to 48 hours. The model is based on the Global Environmental Multiscale Model (GEM).

RTOFS: Real-Time Ocean Forecast System

The RTOFS is a medium-range global ocean model. It is run at 00z each day out to 192 hours. The RTOFS is notable in its high spatial resolution, allowing it to resolve small-scale ocean features such as eddies.

SREF: Short Range Ensemble Forecast

The SREF is a short-range ensemble model based off two distinct physical models that are provided together as an ensemble product by NCEP. The SREF is run at 03z, 09z, 15z, and 21z out to 87 hours. It consists of the ARW and NMB, which are both based off the WRF. 13 ensemble members of each comprise a total of 26 SREF ensembles.

UKMET: United Kingdom Meteorological Office Model

The UKMET or UKMO is a medium-range global model run by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO). The UKMET is run at 00z and 12z out to 144 hours. It is a configuration of the Unified Model, which provides the same underlying physics for all models run by the UKMO.

WRF: The Weather Research and Forecasting Model

The WRF is a model developed by NOAA and NCAR to serve both operational forecasting and atmospheric research needs. WRF is suitable for a broad spectrum of applications and is used as the basis for many operational models at various time and spatial scales including: NAM 3km, NAM 12km, ARW (included in SREF), NMB (included in SREF), and HWRF.

WRF_FV3: WRF Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere dynamical core

The WRF FV3 is a short-term mesoscale model run by NCEP, covering CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The model is run at 00z and 12z out to 60 hours.

WW3: Wave Watch III

WW3 is a medium-range global ocean wave model produced by NOAA and NCEP. The WW3 is run at 00z, 06z, 12z, and 18z out to 240 hours. The model only produces forecast fields pertaining to ocean waves.

Common Abbreviations

CFSR: Climate Forecast System Reanalysis

The CFSR is a data product developed by NCEP that was designed as a global, high-resolution, coupled atmosphere-ocean-land-sea ice system to provide a high-quality estimate of the state of these domains during the 1979-2009 period.

CPC: Climate Prediction Center

The CPC is an agency under NCEP (under NOAA) responsible for long-range forecasts of climate variability. This typically takes the form of temperature and precipitation anomaly forecasts beyond the 1-week time frame.

HRAP: Hydrologic Rainfall Analysis Projection

HRAP is a high-resolution rainfall analysis grid developed by NOAA.

IMS: Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System

IMS is a product created by the U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) that reports the coverage and location of snow and ice cover across the Northern Hemisphere. The USNIC is a branch of the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), which is under NOAA.

IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The IPCC is an organization established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects and options for adaptation and mitigation.

IPCC_AR5: The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5)

IPCC AR5 refers to the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in 2014. It was the fifth in a series of such reports by the IPCC.

JTWC: Joint Typhoon Warning Center

The JTWC is an organization under the United States Navy and Air Force responsible for issuing tropical cyclone warnings in the West Pacific Ocean (west of 180º), and Indian Ocean.

METAR:

METAR is a format for reporting weather observations. METAR weather reports are standardized through International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and are used across the world in aviation and meteorology.

NCAR: National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCAR is an organization established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and managed by UCAR to support the Earth Science academic community with resources and research. Notable contributions include the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center, the weather model WRF, and the programming language NCL.

NCEI: National Centers for Environmental Information

The NCEI is an agency under NOAA responsible for the U.S. government's publicly-available climate and historical weather data and information.

NCEP: National Center for Environmental Prediction

NCEP is an organization under NWS (under NOAA) responsible for developing, collecting, and disseminating national and global weather, water, climate and space weather guidance and data.

NHC: National Hurricane Center

The NHC is an agency under NCEP (under NOAA) responsible for forecasting tropical weather in the North Atlantic and East Pacific (east of 140º). The NHC produces official watches, warnings, forecasts, and analyses of tropical cyclones in these regions.

NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA is a U.S. government organization under the U.S. Department of Commerce responsible for the forecasting, observation, research, and exploration of the atmosphere and ocean.

NOHRSC: National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center

NOHRSC is a center under NOAA that provides U.S. snow observation data.

NRL: Naval Research Labs

The NRL is the corporate research laboratory for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The laboratory conducts a program of scientific and technological research, while connecting military with private industry.

NWS: National Weather Service

NWS is an organization under NOAA responsible for providing weather forecasts, warnings, and other weather-related products to United States. NWS is recognized as the official source of weather-related advisories in the United States.

OPC: Ocean Prediction Center

The OPC is an agency under NCEP responsible for forecasts related to ocean weather.

OSTIA: Ocean Surface Temperature and Ice Analysis

OSTIA is a high-resolution global SST analysis product that integrates a variety of remote-sensing, ship, and buoy data. The dataset is used for initial conditions in weather models. OSTIA was developed by the UK Met Office (UKMO).

PRISM: Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model

PRISM is a climate observation dataset that incorporates a wide range of monitoring networks. PRISM was developed by Oregon State University.

RTMA: Real Time Mesoscale Analysis

The RTMA is a gridded analysis of the current weather observations created by the National Weather Service (NWS) to match the resolution of its National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) product.

SPC: Storm Prediction Center

The SPC is part of the National Weather Service. It is responsible for providing hazardous weather forecasts including tornado and severe thunderstorm watches/warnings for the United States.

UCAR: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

UCAR is an organization established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to manage NCAR. It is a non-profit consortium of over 100 academic institutions. A notable contributions is the organization Unidata, which UCAR and the NSF fund. Unidata hosts a variety of Earth Science data and developed the netCDF file format, which is widely used by meteorologists.

WPC: Weather Prediction Center

The WPC is an agency under NCEP (under NOAA) responsible for Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF) and the interpretation of weather models across the U.S. in the 3-8 day time frame.