Meteorological Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
    • G-P
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
    • R-S
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
    • T-Z
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • April 2025
    • January 2025
    • September 2024
    • April 2024
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
  • News
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2025
    2. January 2025
    3. September 2024
    4. April 2024
    5. January 2024
    6. September 2023
    7. April 2023
    8. Archive Issues
    9. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – April 2025

    By Web TeamApril 15, 2025
    Recent

    In this Issue – April 2025

    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – January 2025

    December 13, 2024

    In this Issue – September 2024

    August 8, 2024
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
Facebook LinkedIn
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
Climate Measurement

NOAA model predicts how the solar eclipse will shift the weather

Elizabeth BakerBy Elizabeth BakerOctober 20, 20233 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Credit NOAA GLOBAL SYSTEMS LABORATORY
Share
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email

NOAA Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) has created a short-range weather forecast High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model that includes the eclipse in its weather forecasts. This is expected to make better forecasts for the wind, solar and even conventional energy sectors.

“This is important for the energy industry, allowing them to use NOAA’s weather model toward predicting solar and wind power generation even during rare but important eclipse disruptions,” said Stan Benjamin, a CIRES scientist who was the senior scientist at the NOAA Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) until his federal retirement last year.

In places where rooftop solar energy, solar farms or wind farms contribute to power generation, the industry will now be able to model potential disruptions caused by the eclipse and make plans to adjust generation and backup.

Benjamin and his team – including colleagues from NOAA GSL, CIRES and CIRA – first incorporated eclipses into the then-experimental version of the HRRR model before the 2017 total solar eclipse, and it worked well. By the time a partial solar eclipse hit the Arctic in June of 2021, NOAA’s operational weather forecasts included eclipses. Now, that model is taking on, for the first time, an eclipse over the continental USA.

In a solar eclipse, the moon passes between Earth and the sun, fully or partially obscuring our star for a little while, and temperatures can dip 4-10°F (2-6°C). Less solar radiation hits the Earth, and since spatial differences in solar radiation drive turbulence in the atmosphere, the winds will quiet for a while. For a few hours that morning, as the eclipse passes by and temperatures remain lower for longer, the turbulent eddies that normally mix up the lowest part of our atmosphere will be less intense, which can greatly affect changes in the lowest part of the atmosphere. Less turbulence can affect low-level clouds, too, and some may disappear before or after the eclipse, with further impacts on the amount of downwelling solar energy.

Thanks to this team’s work, the HRRR now represents all solar eclipses that will occur in the next four decades, including the total solar eclipse that will pass over the USA from Texas to the Northeast on April 8, 2024.

Energy industry representatives have publicly shared their gratitude to the team on LinkedIn. “Thanks for the amazing teamwork!” Amber Motley, director of short-term forecasting at the California Independent Systems Operator, wrote to Benjamin. “Grateful to be able to utilize the HRRR to account for impacts.”

“Improvements like this to the HRRR are an example of the research being done by NOAA and its partners,” said Dave Turner, GSL’s current senior scientist. “Scientists in NOAA are focusing on how to provide improved forecasts of solar and wind, which has been demonstrated to save the energy consumers potentially tens of millions of dollars per year by providing the information needed by the energy companies to more efficiently integrate renewable energy into the electrical grid. More accurate solar and wind forecasts from NOAA also help to accelerate the decarbonization of power generation in the United States.”

To find out more about NOAA’s latest developments, click here.

Previous ArticleFinnish Meteorological Institute to coordinate bioaerosol monitoring and modeling project
Next Article National Centre for Atmospheric Science informs UK government air quality briefing

Read Similar Stories

Data

AI model improves accuracy of five-day regional weather forecasting

July 25, 20252 Mins Read
Climate Measurement

Climate model simulates weather phenomena at scales of 9km worldwide

July 22, 20254 Mins Read
Data

University of Miami researcher develops AI model to track early signs of hurricane formation

July 11, 20254 Mins Read
Latest News

AI model improves accuracy of five-day regional weather forecasting

July 25, 2025

OPINION: Equipping the world with accurate hydrological data

July 24, 2025

R M Young Company to host first-ever webinar

July 24, 2025

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Supplier Spotlights
  • Meteomatics AG
Latest Job Postings
  • smo

    • Ireland
    • Met Éireann
    • Full Time
    • Temporary
  • Senior HPC for Earth Sciences Team Leader (RE3)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertise
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Free Weekly E-Newsletter
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Notice and Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the ...
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by