On the Effects of an Imposed Southern Boundary on Numerical Weather Prediction in the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract

An attempt is made to investigate the effect of the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere on Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude numerical forecasting. Using the NCAR general circulation model and real atmospheric data for January 1958, several experiments were conducted in which a wall was inserted at various latitudes. These forecasts were compared with real data and a global, real-data forecast without a wall. Verification statistics were evaluated for comparison purposes. Several different boundary conditions at the wall were also examined. Walls inserted in the model at or below the equator did not influence the forecast in the mid-latitudes for nearly too weeks. However, walls north of the equator damaged the results after less than a week. Different boundary conditions have little effect on the forecast except near regions of high wind speed.