arXiv Machine Learning

Pointwise is Pointless? A Multimodal Ablation Study for Precipitation Nowcasting with Graph Neural Networks

arXiv:2606. 18436v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Sparse point observations are increasingly available for precipitation nowcasting, but it is unclear how much they improve dense radar-field forecasts.

arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 25

Improving global precipitation forecasts with an AI weather model trained on satellite observations

The paper presents Laxmi, a retrained version of the AIFS weather model that uses satellite-based precipitation observations instead of ERA5 reanalysis data. Laxmi achieves a 19% improvement in global probabilistic accuracy, reduces drizzle overprediction by 33%, and boosts the 95th percentile Brier skill score by 57%. In a case study of 10 Indian tropical storms, Laxmi accurately forecasted 150 mm event-total precipitation in 7 events, outperforming both the original AIFS and the leading physical model IFS.

By Julian F. Schmitt, Bertrand Delorme, Robert C. King, Yashica Patodia, Tapio Schneider, Aditi Sheshadri, Ravi Jain
arXiv AI
Sep 16

Composable multi-satellite precipitation estimation for evolving observing systems

The paper introduces PRISMA, a generative framework that separates precipitation prior training from sensor-specific constraints, allowing flexible composition of heterogeneous satellite observations without retraining the core model. By integrating FY‑4B/AGRI, GPM/GMI, F16‑F18 SSMIS, and GPM/DPR‑Ka data, PRISMA consistently improves precipitation‑estimation accuracy and outperforms IMERG Final in CRPS and RMSE while maintaining positive Brier skill across thresholds. The framework supports rapid, accurate ensemble precipitation estimates, enhancing satellite‑based monitoring for hydrometeorological hazards.

By Yunfan Yang, Haofei Sun, Xiuyu Sun, Wei Han, Xiaoze Xu, Xingtao Song, Jun Li, Zhiqiu Gao, Wei Huang
arXiv AI
Aug 18

High-Resolution Probabilistic Data-Driven Weather Modeling with a Stretched-Grid

arXiv:2511. 23043v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We present a probabilistic data-driven weather model providing ensembles of high spatial resolution realizations of 87 variables at arbitrary ensemble size and forecast length.

By Even Marius Nordhagen, H{\aa}vard Homleid Haugen, Magnus Sikora Ingstad, Aram Farhad Shafiq Salihi, Thomas Nils Nipen, Ivar Ambj{\o}rn Seierstad, Inger-Lise Frogner, Mariana Clare, Simon Lang, Matthew Chantry, Peter Dueben, J{\o}rn Kristiansen
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 11

A Station-Based Evaluation of Machine Learning-based Weather Forecasting Models in Northern Norway

The study evaluates three machine‑learning weather‑prediction models—FourCastNet3, GraphCast, and the ECMWF High‑Resolution Forecast—for wind‑speed forecasting in Northern Norway using multi‑year station data. Results show the ECMWF model slightly outperforms the ML models (RMSE 2.89 m s⁻¹ vs. 2.96 m s⁻¹ for FourCastNet3 and 2.94 m s⁻¹ for GraphCast), yet all models maintain comparable performance beyond their training periods and underestimate strong winds. FourCastNet3 performs best under high‑wind conditions, indicating ML models are competitive with traditional numerical weather prediction but still need improvement for complex terrain.

By Siyan Chen, Lars Uebbing, Eirik Mikal Samuelsen, Georgios Leontidis, Arnt-B{\o}rre Salberg, S\'ebastien Lef\`evre, Robert Jenssen, Kristoffer Wickstr{\o}m
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 16

IRENE: A Convolutional GRU Ensemble Model for Radar Precipitation Nowcasting over Italy

IRENE is a deep learning model that provides probabilistic short‑range precipitation nowcasts over Italy at 1 km spatial and 5‑minute temporal resolution. It uses an encoder–forecaster architecture built on multi‑scale Convolutional Gated Recurrent Units (ConvGRUs) and is trained on national radar composites, with an importance‑sampling scheme and the almost‑fair Continuous Ranked Probability Score as its primary loss. Three training variants—standard, adversarial (IRENE‑GAN), and spectrally constrained (IRENE‑GAN‑RAPSD)—outperform benchmark methods STEPS and DGMR in probabilistic skill, though the advantage in mean absolute error is limited to the first 90 minutes.

By Alessandro Camilletti, Gabriele Franch, Elena Tomasi, Marco Cristoforetti
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 19

MAGPIE-Net: Predicting short-duration heavy-rainfall events in station neighborhoods from multitemporal FY-4A AGRI observations

MAGPIE‑Net is a deep‑learning framework that directly maps multitemporal FY‑4A AGRI infrared and water‑vapor observations to short‑duration heavy‑rainfall warnings for irregular station neighborhoods. By embedding a geographically adaptive, differentiable grid‑to‑station mapping and training with station‑neighborhood event losses, the model outperforms traditional gridded‑precipitation baselines, achieving higher detection rates and longer lead times in 2023 warm‑season tests over China.

By Xiang Lin, Yunying Li, Chengzhi Ye, Zitong Chen, Jing Sun
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