Evaluation of TIGGE Ensemble Forecasts of Precipitation in Distinct Climate Regions in Iran

The application of numerical weather prediction(NWP) products is increasing dramatically. Existing reports indicate that ensemble predictions have better skill than deterministic forecasts. In this study, numerical ensemble precipitation forecasts in the TIGGE database were evaluated using deterministic, dichotomous(yes/no), and probabilistic techniques over Iran for the period 2008–16. Thirteen rain gauges spread over eight homogeneous precipitation regimes were selected for evaluation.The Inverse Distance Weighting and Kriging methods were adopted for interpolation of the prediction values, downscaled to the stations at lead times of one to three days. To enhance the forecast quality, NWP values were post-processed via Bayesian Model Averaging. The results showed that ECMWF had better scores than other products. However, products of all centers underestimated precipitation in high precipitation regions while overestimating precipitation in other regions. This points to a systematic bias in forecasts and demands application of bias correction techniques. Based on dichotomous evaluation,NCEP did better at most stations, although all centers overpredicted the number of precipitation events. Compared to those of ECMWF and NCEP, UKMO yielded higher scores in mountainous regions, but performed poorly at other selected stations.Furthermore, the evaluations showed that all centers had better skill in wet than in dry seasons. The quality of post-processed predictions was better than those of the raw predictions. In conclusion, the accuracy of the NWP predictions made by the selected centers could be classified as medium over Iran, while post-processing of predictions is recommended to improve the quality.     

Forecast skill of the tropical intraseasonal oscillation in the NCEP GFS dynamical extended range forecasts

This study examines the forecast performance of tropical intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) in recent dynamical extended range forecast (DERF) experiments conducted with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecasting System (GFS) model. The present study extends earlier work by comparing prediction skill of the northern winter ISO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) between the current and earlier experiments. Prediction skill for the northern summer ISO is also investigated. Since the boreal summer ISO exhibits northward propagation as well as eastward propagation along the equator, forecast skill for both components is computed. For the 5-year period from 1 January, 1998 through 31 December, 2002, 30-day forecasts were made once a day. Compared to the previous DERF experiment, the current model has shown some improvements in forecasting the ISO during winter season so that the skillful forecasts (anomaly correlation>0.6) for upper-level zonal wind anomaly extend from the previous shorter-than 5 days out to 7 days lead-time. A similar level of skill is seen for both northward and eastward propagation components during the summer season as in the winter case. Results also show that forecasts from extreme initial states are more skillful than those from null phases for both seasons, extending the skillful range by 3–6 days. For strong ISO convection phases, the GFS model performs better during the summer season than during the winter season. In summer forecasts, large-scale circulation and convection anomalies exhibit northward propagation during the peak phase. In contrast, the GFS model still has difficulties in sustaining ISO variability during the northern winter as in the previous DERF run. That is, the forecast does not maintain the observed eastward propagating signals associated with large-scale circulation; rather the forecast anomalies appear to be stationary at their initial location and decay with time. The NCEP Coupled Forecast System produces daily operational forecasts and its predication skill of the MJO will be reported in the future.     

Comparison of extended medium-range forecast skill between KMA ensemble,ocean coupled ensemble,and GloSea5

This article describes a three way inter-comparison of forecast skill on an extended medium-range time scale using the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) operational ensemble numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems (i.e., atmosphere-only global ensemble prediction system (EPSG) and ocean-atmosphere coupledEPSG) and KMA operational seasonal prediction system, the Global Seasonal forecast system version 5 (GloSea5). The main motivation is to investigate whether the ensemble NWP system can provide advantage over the existing seasonal prediction system for the extended medium-range forecast (30 days) even with putting extra resources in extended integration or coupling with ocean with NWP system. Two types of evaluation statistics are examined: the basic verification statistics - the anomaly correlation and RMSE of 500-hPa geopotential height and 1.5-meter surface temperature for the global and East Asia area, and the other is the Real-time Multivariate Madden and Julian Oscillation (MJO) indices (RMM1 and RMM2) - which is used to examine the MJO prediction skill. The MJO is regarded as a main source of forecast skill in the tropics linked to the mid-latitude weather on monthly time scale. Under limited number of experiment cases, the coupled NWP extends the forecast skill of the NWP by a few more days, and thereafter such forecast skill is overtaken by that of the seasonal prediction system. At present stage, it seems there is little gain from the coupled NWP even though more resources are put into it. Considering this, the best combination of numerical product guidance for operational forecasters for an extended medium-range is extension of the forecast lead time of the current ensemble NWP (EPSG) up to 20 days and use of the seasonal prediction system (GloSea5) forecast thereafter, though there exists a matter of consistency between the two systems.     

Roshydromet supercomputer technologies for numerical weather prediction

The main stages are considered of the process of Roshydromet forecast technologies modernization that started in the 1990s, especially those related to the use of supercomputers for operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) and to the development of supercomputer technologies for NWP with different lead times. Some outcomes of the modernization are presented.     

月动力延伸预测模式业务系统DERF2.0对中国气温和降水的预测性能评估

基于国家气候中心第二代月动力延伸预测模式业务系统（DERF2.0）开展的1982～2010 年的回报试验结果和国家气象信息中心提供的669 个台站气象观测资料,利用距平相关系数ACC、平均方差技巧评分MSSS、距平符号一致率R 和短期气候预测业务分级检验Pg 等4 种方法综合评估了DERF2.0 系统对中国的气温和降水的预测性能。结果表明,DERF2.0 模式对气温的总体预测效果较好,对气温的预测性能较DERF1.0 模式有了较明显的提升。与过去全国的短期气候预测业务评分相比,DERF2.0 对气温和降水的预测都有所提高。与气温相比,DERF2.0对降水的预测性能相对较差,对降水的预测水平与DERF1.0 相接近。DERF2.0 对发生在1998 年和2006 年的极端旱、涝个例年也有一定的预测能力,且对气温的预测明显好于降水。从空间上来看,DERF2.0 在西南地区的确定性预测效果较差,模式仍然有很大的改进空间。     

中国区域月平均温度和降水的模式可预报性分析

基于中国台站降水和温度观测资料、中国气象局国家气候中心月动力延伸预报的回算和预测结果讨论了中国区域月平均温度和降水模式可预报性的时空变化特征。文中以持续性预报来表征中国区域月平均温度和降水受外强迫影响下的可预报性,持续性预报技巧存在明显的年际和年代际变化特征;春末夏初和秋季预报评分相对偏低;在中国区域气候变暖和平均降水强度极值增加的背景下,温度的持续性预报评分有明显提高,降水的持续性预报略有下降。月动力延伸预报对月降水和温度的预报能力也存在明显的年际和年代际变化特征;与持续性预报相比,月动力延伸温度预报总体优于持续性预报,降水预报在初春略差,温度预报在8月相对最低。近20余年,月动力延伸预报相对于持续性预报的温度和降水的均方根误差技巧均大于零,其年际变化表现为模式对降水的预测略有提高。两种预报评估结果的空间分布分析表明月动力延伸预报达到显著性水平的正相关区域总体上比持续性预报的范围大,并基本涵盖了持续性预报的高相关区。原因是可预测信息部分来源于外强迫异常的影响,部分来源于对大气内部动力过程的模拟。     

Using soil moisture forecasts for sub-seasonal summer temperature predictions in Europe

Soil moisture exhibits outstanding memory characteristics and plays a key role within the climate system. Especially through its impacts on the evapotranspiration of soils and plants, it may influence the land energy balance and therefore surface temperature. These attributes make soil moisture an important variable in the context of weather and climate forecasting. In this study we investigate the value of (initial) soil moisture information for sub-seasonal temperature forecasts. For this purpose we employ a simple water balance model to infer soil moisture from streamflow observations in 400 catchments across Europe. Running this model with forecasted atmospheric forcing, we derive soil moisture forecasts, which we then translate into temperature forecasts using simple linear relationships. The resulting temperature forecasts show skill beyond climatology up to 2 weeks in most of the considered catchments. Even if forecasting skills are rather small at longer lead times with significant skill only in some catchments at lead times of 3 and 4 weeks, this soil moisture-based approach shows local improvements compared to the monthly European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) temperature forecasts at these lead times. For both products (soil moisture-only forecast and ECMWF forecast), we find comparable or better forecast performance in the case of extreme events, especially at long lead times. Even though a product based on soil moisture information alone is not of practical relevance, our results indicate that soil moisture (memory) is a potentially valuable contributor to temperature forecast skill. Investigating the underlying soil moisture of the ECMWF forecasts we find good agreement with the simple model forecasts, especially at longer lead times. Analyzing the drivers of the temperature forecast skills we find that they are mainly controlled by the strengths of (1) the soil moisture-temperature coupling and (2) the soil moisture memory. We find a negative relationship between these controls that weakens the forecast skills, nevertheless there is a middle ground between both controls in several catchments, as shown by our results.     

A new general circulation model: formulation and preliminary results in a single- and multi-processor environment

This article describes a new general circulation model (GCM) developed jointly by The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the University of Hamburg. The model is versatile in that it can be run as a medium-range (1 to 15 days) global numerical weather prediction (NWP) model; as an extended range (15 to 30 days) NWP model; and as a GCM for periods extending from seasons, through annual and decadal periods, and beyond. The model can be coupled with ocean models that vary in complexity from simple "swamp" oceans to complex ocean GCMs. The atmospheric GCM also has a number of novel features, particularly in the numerical integration scheme which is a high-order, mass-conserving, semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian scheme, thereby removing the stability restriction on the time-step and allowing efficient long-term integrations. The emphasis here will be on demonstrating that the new model performs effectively on the usual measures of skill (statistics such as mean errors, root-mean-square errors and anomaly correlations) in several standard applications upon which new models usually are assessed. These applications include medium range weather forecasts out to 10 days on a daily basis over a one year period; a limited 10-year simulation climatology, prediction of atmospheric anomalies using SST anomalies in an El Nino year; and an alternative two-way approach to regional modelling (the "down-scaling problem") made possible because the unconditional stability of the semi-implicit, semi-Lagrangian formulation permits large variations in grid spacing without changing the time step size. Finally, the model is run on a variety of parallel computing platforms and it is shown that near-linear speed-up can be attained. This is significant for both medium range NWP and very long-term GCM integrations. Received: 28 February 1996 / Accepted: 30 July 1996     

Prediction skill of the Madden and Julian Oscillation in dynamical extended range forecasts

The Madden and Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the most prominent mode of intraseasonal variations in the tropical region. It plays an important role in climate variability and has a significant influence on medium-to-extended ranges weather forecasting in the tropics. This study examines the forecast skill of the oscillation in a set of recent dynamical extended range forecasts (DERF) experiments performed by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The present DERF experiments were done with the reanalysis version of the medium range forecast (MRF) model and include 50-day forecasts, initialized once-a-day (0Z) with reanalyses fields, for the period between 1 January, 1985, and 31 December, 1989. The MRF model shows large mean errors in representing intraseasonal variations of the large-scale circulation, especially over the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean. A diagnostic analysis has considered the different phases of the MJO and the associated forecast skill of the MRF model. Anomaly correlations on the order of 0.3 to 0.4 indicate that skillful forecasts extend out to 5 to 7 days lead-time. Furthermore, the results show a slight increase in the forecast skill for periods when convective anomalies associated with the MJO are intense. By removing the mean errors, the analysis shows systematic errors in the representation of the MJO with weaker than observed upper level zonal circulations. The examination of the climate run of the MRF model shows the existence of an intraseasonal oscillation, although less intense (50–70%) and with faster (nearly twice as fast) eastward propagation than the observed MJO. The results indicate that the MRF model likely has difficulty maintaining the MJO, which impacts its forecast. A discussion of future work to improve the representation of the MJO in dynamical models and assess its prediction is presented. Received: 28 December 1998 / Accepted: 27 September 1999     

The active tropical cyclone season of 2005–2006 over Northwest Australia: Operational model performance and high resolution case studies

Summary There are three main aims of this study. First, the main features of the active 2005–2006 Australian region tropical cyclone (TC) season are summarized, with particular emphasis on the northwest Australian region. Second, an assessment is made of the skill of the available operational global and regional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models for three of the most significant TCs (TCs Clare, Glenda and Hubert), each of which made landfall on the northwest coast of Australia. Third, high-resolution numerical modelling simulations of these same three TCs are described in detail. The numerical weather prediction (NWP) model used here was developed at the University of Oklahoma, and in this study it utilises initial and boundary conditions obtained from archived analyses and forecasts provided by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, as well as a 4D-Var data assimilation scheme to ingest all available satellite data. The high-resolution numerical model is multiply two-way nested, with the innermost domain having a resolution of 5 km. It was found that unlike the operational models, which were restricted by relatively low resolution and less data, the high resolution model was able to capture most of the major features of all three TC lifecycles including development from initial tropical depressions, intensification, and their tracks, landfall, and associated rainfall and wind fields.     

国家气候中心短期气候预测模式系统业务化进展

该文简要介绍了国家气候中心短期气候预测模式系统的研发成果,并侧重于从海洋资料同化系统、陆面资料同化系统、月动力延伸预测模式系统、季节气候预测模式系统4个方面介绍了第2代短期气候预测模式系统的业务化进展。第2代海洋资料同化系统已初步建成,其对温盐的同化效果总体上优于第1代同化系统;陆面资料同化系统正在研发中,目前已完成其中的多源降水融合子系统的业务建设工作,可为陆面分量提供实时的大气降水强迫分析场;第2代月动力延伸预测系统基于国家气候中心大气环流模式BCC_AGCM2.2建立,已于2012年8月进入准业务运行阶段;第2代季节预测模式系统基于国家气候中心气候系统模式BCC_CSM1.1(m) 建立,将于2013年底投入准业务运行。初步评估表明:第2代月动力延伸预测模式系统和季节气候预测模式系统分别对候、旬、月和季节、年际时间尺度的气候变率体现出了一定的预测能力,其对降水、气温、环流等要素的预测技巧总体上要高于第1代预测系统。     

Forecasting quantitative rainfall over India using multi-model ensemble technique

A new approach to ensemble forecasting of rainfall over India based on daily outputs of four operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) models in the medium-range timescale (up to 5 days) is proposed in this study. Four global models, namely ECMWF, JMA, GFS and UKMO available on real-time basis at India Meteorological Department, New Delhi, are used simultaneously with adequate weights to obtain a multi-model ensemble (MME) technique. In this technique, weights for each NWP model at each grid point are assigned on the basis of unbiased mean absolute error between the bias-corrected forecast and observed rainfall time series of 366 daily data of 3 consecutive southwest monsoon periods (JJAS) of 2008, 2009 and 2010. Apart from MME, a simple ensemble mean (ENSM) forecast is also generated and experimented. The prediction skill of MME is examined against observed and corresponding outputs of each constituent model during monsoon 2011. The inter-comparison reveals that MME is able to provide more realistic forecast of rainfall over Indian monsoon region by taking the strength of each constituent model. It has been further found that the weighted MME technique has higher skill in predicting daily rainfall compared to ENSM and individual member models. RMSE is found to be lowest in MME forecasts both in magnitude and area coverage. This indicates that fluctuations of day-to-day errors are relatively less in the MME forecast. The inter-comparison of domain-averaged skill scores for different rainfall thresholds further clearly demonstrates that the MME algorithm improves slightly above the ENSM and member models.     

Impact of single-point GPS integrated water vapor estimates on short-range WRF model forecasts over southern India

Specifying physically consistent and accurate initial conditions is one of the major challenges of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. In this study, ground-based global positioning system (GPS) integrated water vapor (IWV) measurements available from the International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Service (IGS) station in Bangalore, India, are used to assess the impact of GPS data on NWP model forecasts over southern India. Two experiments are performed with and without assimilation of GPS-retrieved IWV observations during the Indian winter monsoon period (November–December, 2012) using a four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation method. Assimilation of GPS data improved the model IWV analysis as well as the subsequent forecasts. There is a positive impact of ～10 % over Bangalore and nearby regions. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model-predicted 24-h surface temperature forecasts have also improved when compared with observations. Small but significant improvements were found in the rainfall forecasts compared to control experiments.     

Skill as a function of time scale in ensembles of seasonal hindcasts

Forecast skill as a function of time lead and time averaging is examined in two 6-member ensembles of seasonal hindcasts. One ensemble is produced with the second generation general circulation model of the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (GCM2) and the other with a reduced resolution version of the numerical weather prediction model of the Canadian Meteorological Centre (SEF). The integrations are initiated from the NCEP/NCAR reanalyzed data. Monthly sea surface temperature anomalies observed prior to the forecast period are maintained throughout the forecast season. A statistical forecast improvement technique, based on the singular value decomposition of forecast and reanalyzed fields, is discussed and evaluated. A simple analogue of the hindcast integrations is used to examine the behavior of two common skill scores, the correlation skill score and the explained variance skill score. The maximal skill score and the corresponding optimal forecast in this analogue are identified. The total skill of the optimal forecast is a sum of two terms, one associated with the initial conditions and the other with the lower boundary forcing. The two sources of skill operate on different time scales, with initial conditions being more important in the first one-two weeks and the atmospheric response to the boundary forcing becoming more dominant for longer time leads and time averages. This suggests that these sources of skill should be considered separately in forecast optimization. The statistical technique is moderately successful in improving the skill of monthly to seasonal forecasts of 500 hPa height (Z ₅₀₀) and 700 hPa temperature (T ₇₀₀) in the Northern Hemisphere and in the North Pacific/North America sector. The improvement is better when the forecasts for the first week and for the rest of the season are optimized separately. The SEF model produces better Z ₅₀₀ and T ₇₀₀ forecasts than GCM2 in the first one-two weeks whereas GCM2 performs slightly better at longer time leads. The skill of zero time lead forecast decays rapidly with averaging interval for time averages up to about 30–45 days and stabilizes, or even rises, for longer time averages. Excluding the first week from seasonal forecasts results in substantial degradation of predictive skill. Received: 1 November 1999 / Accepted: 24 May 2000     

基于月动力延伸预报最优信息的中国降水降尺度预测模型

利用国家气候中心月动力延伸预报结果、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和中国160个站观测资料,通过计算两次相关的方法,获取最优预报信息作为建立降尺度预测模型的预测因子,提取的最优预测因子同时满足既是观测环流要素场影响降水的关键区域,又是模式要素场预报的高技巧区域两个条件.结合挑选出的最优预测因子,利用最优子集回归建立月平均降水的降尺度预测模型.文中设计了消除预测因子和预测量的线性趋势值后建立预测模型(方案1)和直接利用原始资料建立预测模型(方案2)两种方案.经过独立样本检验,发现这两种方案建立的预测模型都能够提高月尺度降水预测,方案1对月尺度降水预测的距平相关系数平均可达0.35.利用该方案对超前时间分别为0、5、10 d的月动力延伸预报产品进行月降水的降尺度预测表明,模式初值信息不仅影响月动力延伸预报结果,也影响降尺度应用效果,利用超前时间为0和5 d的月动力延伸预报结果进行降水降尺度预测可在业务中参考.此外,降尺度预测模型中选取的预测因子不仪在统计上是显著的,同时也具有清楚的物理意义.     

国外气象业务中心核心预报能力的比较和发展

基于文献和世界气象组织(WMO)世界气象中心以及部分国家气象中心网站的信息,梳理了世界主要气象业务中心的全球天气预报模式预报指标,分析了当前领先气象业务中心的预报水平,并对反映其核心预报能力的天气和气候预报技巧指标进行了比较。在对过去10多年来预报技巧进步趋势分析的基础上,对领先气象业务中心在2025和2035年可能达到的预报指标进行了推测。尽管未来各主要气象业务中心预报系统的提升速率将明显放缓,但是可预报时效将会大大提高:到2025和2035年,500 hPa位势高度的预报时效将分别提高至8.5和10.5 d,高分辨率模式的预报时效将分别提升至7.6和8.4 d,而多种模式要素预报的有效性将全面接近并可能进入10 d。天气型转变预测和MJO预测是反映气候预测的两个核心指标。针对Ni?o 3.4海温距平的未来3和6个月预测,相关性未来分别可能达到93%和86%(2025年)以及96%和90%(2035年),而气候模式对MJO的预报时效在2025年将可能达到49 d。新预报量的设计和业务化、下一代数值预报模式以及资料同化技术的研发等,将成为数值天气预报领域发展的新趋势。     

Ensemble hindcasts of ENSO events over the past 120 years using a large number of ensembles

Based on an intermediate coupled model (ICM), a probabilistic ensemble prediction system (EPS) has been developed. The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) data assimilation approach is used for generating the initial ensemble conditions, and a linear, first-order Markov-Chain SST anomaly error model is embedded into the EPS to provide model-error perturbations. In this study, we perform ENSO retrospective forecasts over the 120 year period 1886–2005 using the EPS with 100 ensemble members and with initial conditi...     

Ensemble Forecast： A New Approach to Uncertainty and Predictability

Ensemble techniques have been used to generate daily numerical weather forecasts since the 1990s in numerical centers around the world due to the increase in computation ability. One of the main purposes of numerical ensemble forecasts is to try to assimilate the initial uncertainty （initial error） and the forecast uncertainty （forecast error） by applying either the initial perturbation method or the multi-model/multiphysics method. In fact, the mean of an ensemble forecast offers a better forecast than a deterministic （or control） forecast after a short lead time （3-5 days） for global modelling applications. There is about a 1-2-day improvement in the forecast skill when using an ensemble mean instead of a single forecast for longer lead-time. The skillful forecast （65% and above of an anomaly correlation） could be extended to 8 days （or longer） by present-day ensemble forecast systems. Furthermore, ensemble forecasts can deliver a probabilistic forecast to the users, which is based on the probability density function （PDF） instead of a single-value forecast from a traditional deterministic system. It has long been recognized that the ensemble forecast not only improves our weather forecast predictability but also offers a remarkable forecast for the future uncertainty, such as the relative measure of predictability （RMOP） and probabilistic quantitative precipitation forecast （PQPF）. Not surprisingly, the success of the ensemble forecast and its wide application greatly increase the confidence of model developers and research communities.     

基于DERF2.0的月平均温度概率订正预报

国家气候中心第二代月动力延伸模式回算资料的分析表明,二代模式月平均温度预报与观测实况仍然存在较大偏差,模式预报有较大改进空间。本文采用非参数百分位映射法对模式月平均温度预报进行概率订正,该方法基于模式集合平均给出的确定性预报,结合模式回算资料各集合成员计算得到的模式概率密度分布,给出确定性预报在模式概率密度分布中的百分位值,并将百分位值投影到观测资料的概率密度分布中,得到模式预报的概率订正值。对订正前后模式预报的检验评估显示,该订正方案不仅有效降低了模式预报与实况的均方根误差（RMSE）,对月平均温度距平分布的预报技巧也有所改善,不同超前时间模式预报的预测技巧评分（PS）和距平相关系数（ACC）均有提升,同时模式预报误差的大小对订正效果无明显影响。从分月的订正预报结果来看,对夏季各月的温度预测技巧的提升整体高于冬季各月。     

Multimodel based superensemble forecasts for short and medium range NWP over various regions of Africa

Summary This study examines the predictability of weather over several regions in Africa using a multimodel superensemble technique developed at the Florida State University, which is an objective means of combining daily forecasts from multilevel global models. It is referred to as FSUSE and up to 7 different models are used to construct the superensemble. The benchmark reanalysis fields used are the precipitation data sets from CMORPH and all other global fields from ECMWF daily operational analysis. The FSUSE works by using multiple linear regression to derive weights from a comparison of each member model forecast to the benchmark analysis during a training period of the most recent 120 days, and these weights are passed to the forecast phase. This procedure removes the bias of each model and allows for an optimal linear combination of the individual model forecasts by taking account of the relative skill of each model to give a consensus forecast that is superior to the ensemble mean and all the members. Results show that bad models and poor analysis fields used during the training phase degrade the skill of the FSUSE. In the forecasts of rainfall events over all regions of Africa, the FSUSE root-mean-square (R M S) error, equitable threat skill score (E T S), and bias on the daily forecasts of rainfall were invariably superior to the best member model. The skills deteriorate as the forecast lead time in days increases, with the degradation being most significant beyond day 3. In all cases, the bias score of the FSUSE was approximately 1, while the anomaly correlation scores were to the order of 0.9. These scores indicate the robustness of the FSUSE forecasts. Over East Africa, the FSUSE forecasts were consistent with the spatial-temporal pattern of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the main rain bearing synoptic mechanism across tropical Africa. Thus, in addition to superior forecasts, the use of FSUSE based data sets may provide a better understanding of the dynamical processes within the ITCZ over the region. These results could be further improved if the daily series of operational analysis had included gauge data and if the resolution were higher. It is hardly possible to get uniformly consistent and continuous daily observations over these diverse regions of Africa. However, given the availability of the satellite based estimates of daily rainfall, such as CMORPH and global analysis that are exchanged very fast nowadays, the FSUSE scheme for numerical weather predictions (N W P) provides useful medium range weather forecasts in real-time.