The Portland area is bracing for what could be the first truly significant snowfall of the season later this week. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for snow, ice, temperatures in the 20s, and gusty east winds across a large portion of western Oregon. A series of Pacific storms from Thursday through Saturday is anticipated to bring heavy snow to the Columbia River .
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The research program that developed the HRRR was initially funded by the Federal Aviation Administration to improve forecasts necessary to support flight planning.
From its inception as an experiment to improve forecasts for aviation, to the transition of its final update to NOAA National Weather Service operations on December 2, the Global Systems Laboratory’s pioneering High-Resolution Rapid Refresh weather model established a remarkable resume of research accomplishments.
Experimental versions of the HRRR improved the accuracy of short-term hazardous weather model predictions, icing and fog guidance for aviation, as well as better predictions of precipitation from long trains of Pacific storms called atmospheric rivers, which are vital to California’s water supply. Another version improved prediction of low-level winds in complex terrain, leading to more efficient wind energy production. Transmission grid operators use HRRR forecasts to factor weather conditions