Hurricane WRF Tutorial

2018 Hurricane WRF (HWRF) Tutorial

Date: Jan 23-25, 2018
Location: NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, MD

A Hurricane WRF Tutorial will be held on Jan. 23-25, 2018 at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) in College Park, MD. This will be a three-day event organized by the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC) and by the NOAA Environmental Modeling Center (EMC). The Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast system (HWRF) is a coupled atmosphere-ocean model suitable for tropical cyclone (TC) research and forecasting in all Northern and Southern Hemisphere ocean basins.

Tutorial participants can expect to hear lectures on all aspects of HWRF, including model physics and dynamics, nesting, initialization, coupling with the ocean, postprocessing, and vortex tracking. Additionally, enrichment lectures on HWRF's multistorm capability, TC verification, HWRF ensemble system, and NCEP's future plans for TC numerical weather prediction will be presented. Practical sessions will give tutorial participants hands-on experience in running HWRF.

Requirements

The HWRF tutorial will not provide basic training on numerical weather prediction (NWP) or on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Therefore, it is recommended that all participants have a basic understanding of NWP and experience using WRF. We suggest that all participants unfamiliar with WRF familiarize themselves with the online WRF tutorial as well as the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) data assimilation online tutorial prior to attending the HWRF tutorial.

Participants should bring a laptop computer with a ssh client with x11 forwarding. The laptop also needs a USB port for the token to access the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)'s supercomputer, Cheyenne. If this is a limitation, please contact jessaj@ucar.edu.

Available Spaces

Due to the constraints of physical space and computers, registration for the tutorial with lecture and practical sessions will be limited to 40 participants.

Registration & Payment

There is a registration fee associated with the HWRF tutorial to cover necessary material costs and other expenses.

• Full Tutorial (both lecture and practical sessions): $175 (includes supplemental materials and morning and afternoon refreshments). Please bring a personal laptop for the practical sessions.
• NCWCP residents (with NOAA CAC cards): No registration fee will be charged, but supplemental materials and refreshments will not be provided - an option to order refreshments will be provided separately.

Registration fees must be paid by credit card. You will receive a confirmation that you have registered, and your credit card will be charged immediately. No refunds for cancellations will be given after December 22, 2017.

Given time constraints for the lunch breaks, information on how to order a lunch from the cafeteria will be provided to all registrants in early January.

If you have any questions or are unable to register, please e-mail: jessaj@ucar.edu.

Summary of Important Dates

• 5 October 2017: Registration opens.
• 15 December 2017: Registration closes. We recommend registering ASAP to ensure enough time to obtain temporary individual computer accounts on NCAR's Cheyenne supercomputer for the hands-on practical sessions.
• 22 December 2017: Last day to receive a partial refund if you need to cancel your registration for the tutorial. Prior to 3 PM MT on 22 December 2017, registration fees will be refunded, less $25.00 to cover administrative costs. After this date, there will be no refunds.
• 1 January 2018: Deadline for the special tutorial lodging rate at the Residence Inn by Marriott Greenbelt.
• 23-25 January 2018: Hurricane WRF Tutorial

We look forward to your attendance!

Contact

• For information, please contact: Jessa Johnson (jessaj@ucar.edu)
• HWRF tutorial organizing committee:
  Evan Kalina (DTC NOAA): evan.kalina@noaa.gov
  Kathryn Newman (DTC NCAR): knewman@ucar.edu
  Zhan Zhang (EMC NOAA): zhan.zhang@noaa.gov
  Bin Liu (EMC NOAA): bin.liu@noaa.gov

Address: NCWCP building, 5830 University Research Court, College Park, MD 20740

Hurricane WRF Tutorial Agenda

Day 1: Tuesday, 23 January 2018

8:30 AM	Opening Remarks
8:45 AM	Overview of the HWRF Modeling System - Avichal Mehra (PDF)
9:15 AM	NMM Dynamic Core and HWRF - Zavisa Janjic (PDF)
9:45 AM	HWRF Ocean: The Princeton Ocean Model - Isaac Ginis (PDF)
10:15 AM	Break and Group Photo
10:45 AM	HWRF Nesting - Xuejin Zhang (PDF)
11:15 AM	HWRF Physics - Weiguo Wang (PDF)
12:00 PM	Lunch
1:00 PM	HWRF Initialization - Evan Kalina (PDF)
1:30 PM	Vortex Initialization - Qingfu Liu (PDF)
2:00 PM	Mechanics of Running HWRF - Mrinal Biswas (PDF)
2:30 PM	Break
3:00 PM	Code Compilation and Practical Session Setup - Laurie Carson (PDF)
3:10 PM	Practical Session

Day 2: Wednesday, 24 January 2018

8:30 AM	Introduction to DA and GSI - Hui Shao (PDF)
9:00 AM	HWRF Data Assimilation System - Mingjing Tong (PDF)
9:30 AM	The Coupled System - Dmitry Sheinin (PDF)
10:00 AM	Break
10:30 AM	Enrichment: Next-Generation HWRF: HYCOM Coupling - Hyun S. Kim (PDF)
11:00 AM	UPP - Huiya Chuang (PDF)
11:30 AM	GFDL Vortex Tracker - Tim Marchok (PDF)
12:00 PM	Lunch
1:00 PM	Python Scripts in HWRF - Evan Kalina (PDF)
2:00 PM	Enrichment: HWRF Multistorm Modeling System - Xuejin Zhang (PDF)
2:30 PM	Break
3:00 PM	Alternate HWRF Configurations - Evan Kalina (PDF)
3:20 PM	Practical Session

Day 3: Thursday, 25 January 2018

9:00 AM	HWRF Idealized Simulation - Mrinal Biswas (PDF)
9:30 AM	Enrichment: HWRF-based Ensemble Prediction System - Zhan Zhang (PDF)
10:00 AM	Enrichment: Tropical Cyclone Forecast Verification - Kathryn Newman (PDF)
10:30 AM	Break
11:00 AM	Practical Session
12:00 PM	Lunch
1:00 PM	Practical Session
3:00 PM	Break
3:30 PM	Future of HWRF - Avichal Mehra/Vijay Tallapragada (PDF)
3:50 PM	Future of Operational Hurricane Modeling at EMC - Vijay Tallapragada/Avichal Mehra (PDF)
4:10 PM	Discussion, Closing Remarks, and Wrap Up
4:25 PM	Adjourn

Registration for this event is now closed.

Arriving at NCWCP

Arrival times

Please check the agenda each day as the starting time may vary. Plan to arrive at NCWCP 15 minutes prior to the starting time to allow sufficent time for the security screening.

Meeting Location

The Tutorial is being held at the NCWCP Conference Center, located at 5830 University Research Court, *College Park, MD 20740.
(*Note - older GPS systems may reference Riverdale instead of College Park).

Arriving at NCWCP

• Via driving
  From Maryland: Take I-495 East to exit 23A (Kenilworth Ave/MD-210 S). Stay on 210 South until you make a right onto River Rd. Take the first right onto University Research Ct. NCWCP will be the building on the left at the end of the court.
  From Virginia: Merge onto I-495 OUTERLOOP/Capital Beltway/ toward Alexandria. Take the I-295 N/National Harbor exit, EXIT 2A-B, toward Washington. Keep right to take DC-295 N toward US-50 E (crossing into Maryland). Take the exit toward MD-410/Hyattsville/New Carrollton. Take left onto Riverdale Rd (Riverdale Rd becomes East-West Hwy/MD-410 W). Turn left onto River Rd. Take the first right onto University Research Ct. NCWCP will be the building on the left.
  From Washington DC: Take I-295 North to MD- 410/Hyattsville/New Carrollton. Take left onto Riverdale Rd (Riverdale Rd becomes East-West Hwy/MD-410 W). Turn left onto River Rd. Take the first right onto University Research Ct. NCWCP will be the building on the left.
• Via Metrorail (please note that Metrorail may occasionally be closed)
  The NCWCP is accessible via the Green or Yellow Metrorail Line to the College Park/University of Maryland station. It is a 15-20 minute walk (to the east down River Road) from the station to the NCWCP. A shuttle is also available during peak commute periods. You may view a detailed shuttle schedule here. UM Shuttle (109 River Road) will drop passengers off at the end of the cul-de-sac. The NCWCP building is the large glass building to the left.
• Via Hotel Shuttle
  For those utilizing the group rate at the Courtyard Marriott Greenbelt, a shuttle to the NCWCP is available. Please make arrangements with the front desk at check in.

Entrance Instructions

You will need to show a valid ID to the outside guard station as you walk by/drive through. NOAA employees with badges can just show their badge. Next, walk to main entrance on the front side of building. You will need to push a doorbell and announce you are here to attend the Hurricane WRF Tutorial.

Once you enter the building, please DO NOT go through the security check point. The Conference Center is on your right, just before entering the security check point. It is a non-security area and open to public.

You are not permitted to enter the secure areas unless you are a NOAA employee or you have a NOAA host and have gone through appropriate paperwork for a visit.

Conference Logistics

Non-US resident registration

Additional paperwork is needed for non-US citizens (excluding NCWCP residents with NOAA CAC cards) to enter the NCWCP building and it takes about one month to process the paperwork. If you are a non-US citizen, you will receive an email shortly after registration closes with further information. We recommend that you respond as soon as possible in order to avoid complications.

If you require a letter of invitation or have any questions, please contact Jessa Johnson at jessaj@ucar.edu.

Meals and refreshments

If you paid a registration fee, morning and afternoon refreshments will be provided for the length of the tutorial at no additional cost.

For speakers, refreshments are covered for the day of your presentation.

For people working at the NCWCP building and not paying a registration fee, refreshments can be ordered separately. A separate email will be sent out before the tutorial with a link to order the lunch and refreshments.

For all, lunch is not covered and should be ordered separately. You should receive an email from Jessa by January 2nd with instructions on how to submit the order. If you do not receive the email by January 2nd and would like to order food, please contact Jessa Johnson at jessaj@ucar.edu.

Group Photo

The group photo will be taken on Tuesday (January 23, 2018) at 10:15 AM during the morning break.

Hotel

Courtyard by Marriott

6301 Golden Triangle Dr.
Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-441-3311
Base Rate: $149/night
All rooms subject to state and local taxes
Amenities: Shuttle service to the venue

Fine Print

Each participant is responsible for making their own reservation. Guests must refer to the HWRF Tutorial room block and request their accommodations prior to the reservation cutoff date of January 2, 2018.
Reservations can be made by utilizing the link below or by calling reservations at 1-800-321-2211.

Book your group rate for the HWRF Tutorial Room Block

Individual reservations must be canceled by 6 pm on the day prior to the arrival date to avoid a room and tax charge for the first night. All reservations must be received no later than January 2, 2018. Any reservations received after the cutoff date will be accepted on a space and/or rate-available basis.

Check-in time is 3:00 PM and checkout time is 12:00 PM.

Other Lodging Options

Other hotel options can be found at the Shop College Park web site.