Evaluation of WRF model seasonal forecasts for tropical region of Singapore

The Weather and Research Forecast (WRF) model is evaluated for the monsoon and inter-monsoon seasons over the tropical region of Singapore. The model configuration, physical parameterizations and performance results are described in this paper. In addition to the ready-to-use data available with the WRF model, the model configuration includes high resolution MODIS land use (500 m horizontal resolution) and JPL-NASA sea surface temperature (1 km horizontal resolution) data. The model evaluation is performed against near surface observations for temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, available from a dense network of weather monitoring stations across Singapore. It is found that the high resolution data sets bring significant improvement in the model forecasts. The results also indicate that the model forecasts are more accurate in the monsoon seasons compared to the inter-monsoon seasons