Lewis Fry Richardson's forecast factory - for real

Charlton-Perez, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8179-6220 and Dacre, H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4328-9126 (2011) Lewis Fry Richardson's forecast factory - for real. Weather, 66 (2). pp. 52-54. ISSN 0043-1656 doi: 10.1002/wea.670

Abstract/Summary

The idea that supercomputers are an important part of making forecasts of the weather and climate is well known amongst the general population. However, the details of their use are somewhat mysterious. A concept used to illustrate many undergraduate numerical weather prediction courses is the idea of a giant 'forecast factory,' conceived by Lewis Fry Richardson in 1922. In this article, a way of using the same idea to communicate key ideas in numerical weather prediction to the general public is outlined and tested amongst children from local schools.