The WRFv3.1.1 ARW PS:4.1.1.4.2.4.1 configuration replaces the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) and surface layer physics schemes used in operations with the Quasi-Normal Elimination Scale (QNSE) schemes. This configuration was evaluated by the Developmental Testbed Cener (DTC) during the winter of 2009-2010 to assess the impact of these two new schemes developed by Sukoriansky, Galperin and Perov (Sukoriansky et al. 2005) available in WRF since v3.1.

A Contiguous United States (CONUS) domain with 15-km grid spacing was employed for this test covering complex terrain, plains and coastal regions spanning from the Gulf of Mexico, north to Central Canada in order to capture diverse regional effects for worldwide comparability. This configuration is a general application configuration for mid-latitude forecasts.