Scientific Basis of Modern Weather Prediction

A review of the scientific principles and computational methods used in modern weather prediction is presented. The history of research in this area shows that researchers attempting to improve weather prediction have advanced all of meteorology. The numerical models developed for weather prediction are today an integral component of meteorological data analysis and are used in simulating past and present climates and in assessing the potential for future climate changes. Related disciplines, such as oceanography, computational fluid dynamics, and mathematics, have also reaped benefits from this effort, which is currently being extended to studies at smaller spatial and longer temporal scales.