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wrfimpacts·v1·dataset

Weather model simulations for winter storms study

Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model IMPACTS
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 4 netCDF-3
In plain English

What it measures. Computer-model simulations of the winter storms studied during the IMPACTS campaign, recreating precipitation events rather than directly observing them.

How it's made. Generated by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, started from national forecast-model conditions, and saved as netCDF files.

How & where you'd use it. Lets researchers compare simulated snowstorms against real observations to better understand and predict snowfall.

What's measured

Atmosphere › Weather Events › Weather/Climate Advisories

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2020-01-12 → 2023-03-04
  • Measured byMODELS (Computer)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-114.20199584960938, 22.970565795898438, -53.798004150390625, 53.58893585205078
  • FormatsnetCDF-3
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model IMPACTS dataset includes model data simulated by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign. IMPACTS was a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic Coast (2020-2023). The campaign aimed to (1) Provide observations critical to understanding the mechanisms of snowband formation, organization, and evolution; (2) Examine how the microphysical characteristics and likely growth mechanisms of snow particles vary across snowbands; and (3) Improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling to significantly advance prediction capabilities. The WRF model provided simulations of the precipitation events that were observed during the campaign using initial and boundary conditions from the Global Forecast System (GFS) model and the North American Mesoscale Forecast System (NAM). The WRF IMPACTS dataset files are available from January 12, 2020, through March 4, 2023, in netCDF-3 format.

Get the data

wrfimpacts_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="wrfimpacts",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GHRC_DAAC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.