arXiv Machine Learning

Meteosat Third Generation imagery improves CNN-based SSI retrieval

arXiv:2607. 28093v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Accurate Surface Solar Irradiance (SSI) estimation is increasingly important for photovoltaic energy monitoring and forecasting.

arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 27

Tropospheric temperature and humidity profile retrieval from Meteosat Flexible Combined Imager based on deep learning

The study presents a spatially aware deep learning framework that retrieves all‑sky tropospheric temperature and humidity profiles from the Meteosat Third Generation Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) without relying on numerical weather prediction background fields. Using a Residual U‑Net trained on 14 months of collocated FCI observations and CERRA reanalysis data, the model achieves temperature biases below 0.4 K and relative humidity standard deviations between 12–20 %, with modest performance degradation under cloud cover. Ablation and feature‑sensitivity analyses confirm that incorporating spatial context across all 16 FCI channels, including visible and near‑infrared bands, improves retrieval accuracy, especially beneath cloud tops.

By Alejandro Salgueiro, Johannes Rausch, Julie Th\'er\`ese Villinger, Angela Meyer
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 11

Bidirectional Multimodal Fusion of Sky Images and Time-Series for Solar Forecasting with Large Language Models

The paper introduces SolCloudLLM, a large language model–based framework that fuses sky‑image patches with time‑series data through bidirectional multimodal fusion for short‑term solar forecasting. Experiments on the SIRTA and SKIPP'D datasets show that SolCloudLLM outperforms existing baselines, achieving up to a 25.4% reduction in mean squared error, especially under cloudy conditions and in few‑shot scenarios.

By Ken Chen, Maneesha Perera, Wei Wang, Sachith Seneviratne, Hansani Weeratunge, Saman Halgamuge
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 10

SolarBench: A global solar energy nowcasting benchmark

SolarBench is an open global benchmark for image-based solar nowcasting that consolidates over six million sky and satellite images from 11 sites across a decade, paired with irradiance, PV output, and atmospheric data. The benchmark includes a toolbox for reproducible data access, processing, model development, and evaluation. Using SolarBench, the authors benchmark representative models, uncover a gap between average forecasting accuracy and the capture of rapid solar fluctuations, quantify predictability across cloud regimes, and demonstrate data‑efficient adaptation to new PV systems.

By Yuhao Nie, Stephen Campbell, Quentin Paletta, Liwenbo Zhang, Tao Jing, Samer Chaaraoui, Jonathan Giezendanner, Andea Scott, Tao Sun, Cong Feng, Max Aragon, Jacques Camier, Adam Jensen, Florian Kotthoff, Yuexing Yang, Yang Ming, Mengying Li, Stefanie Meilinger, Yupeng Wu, Adam Brandt, Sherrie Wang
arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 28

Machine Learning for Cloud Detection in IASI Measurements: A Data-Driven SVM Approach with Physical Constraints

arXiv:2508. 10120v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Cloud detection is fundamental for the interpretation and operational exploitation of hyperspectral infrared sounders, yet the capability of infrared radiances alone to provide reliable cloud information remains insufficiently assessed.

By Chiara Zugarini, Cristina Sgattoni, Luca Sgheri
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 4

WeatherNext 3: Increasing resolution and performance of global weather models with raw observations

WeatherNext 3 is a new AI‑driven global weather model that improves both spatial and temporal resolution by generating hourly forecasts at 0.1° resolution, matching the best physics‑based models. It incorporates low‑latency geostationary satellite data and learns to predict satellite‑derived precipitation, tropical cyclones, and station observations, enabling 2 m temperature and dewpoint predictions anywhere and anytime. By directly using raw observations instead of relying solely on analysis data, WeatherNext 3 sets a new state‑of‑the‑art for probabilistic medium‑range forecasting skill.

By Stephan Rasp, Boris Babenko, Dominic Masters, Andrew El-Kadi, Samier Merchant, Guy Shalev, Ilan Price, Fred Zyda, Remi Lam, Sasha Shysheya, Matthew Willson, Stratis Markou, Shreya Agrawal, Suhani Vora, Mohammed Alewi Hassen, Sunny Mak, Tom R. Andersson, Megan Bela, Akib Uddin, Nofar Peled Levi, Ben Gaiarin, Ferran Alet, Aaron Bell, Peter Battaglia, Alvaro Sanchez-Gonzalez
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 4

From Nowcasting to Forecasting: Adapting a Reanalysis-Trained

The paper introduces CloudCast v2, a machine‑learning model that forecasts 12‑hour cloud‑cover from satellite‑derived initial conditions. Trained first on the Copernicus European Regional Reanalysis to learn cloud‑evolution dynamics, it is then adapted to real satellite data using conditional flow matching, a generative technique that conditions noise on observed cloud fields and NWP inputs. CloudCast v2 achieves a 10 % reduction in mean absolute error compared to its predecessor and surpasses it in spatial skill after 3–6 hours, extending useful forecasting beyond the typical 1–3‑hour nowcasting window while preserving satellite‑level spatial detail.

By Mikko Partio, Leila Hieta, Ossi Laine