Can Home Computers Run Hurricane Models?

Click For Summary
Running hurricane models on a home desktop is highly challenging due to the complexity and computational power required, as these models typically operate on supercomputers like IBM's eServer p690. Most hurricane modeling software is proprietary and not available for public use, making it difficult to access the source code or programs. Some weather modeling packages, such as MM5 and FMS, have partially available sources, but setting them up can be complicated and resource-intensive. Users may need a data feed from the National Weather Service to run these models effectively. Overall, while some resources exist, the feasibility of running sophisticated hurricane models on a personal computer is limited.
dimensionless
Messages
460
Reaction score
1
It is possible to run any of these hurricane models on a home desktop? If so, does anyone know where I can get information on the models? Can I download the model/source code/program itself? Will I need a data feed from the national weather service?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
http://www-03.ibm.com/servers/eserver/pseries/news/pressreleases/2003/jun/weather.html

IBM IBM eServer p690 and FAStT500 Storage Server
The supercomputer will be delivered in stages. The first phase—a cluster of 44 IBM IBM eServer p690 servers supported by 42 terabytes of IBM TotalStorage FAStT500 Storage Server disk storage—doubles the current computing power for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service.

IBM will expand the system to reach a peak speed well in excess of 100 teraflops by 2009. It would take one person with a calculator more than 80 million years to tabulate the number of calculations a 100 teraflop supercomputer can handle in a single second.

Thats the kinda computer system they run hurricane models on.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Models like the kind they are plastering all over CNN and such now a days are not off the shelf programs. They are going to be proprietary codes and are not going to be cheap.
 
... was doing some searching about weather modeling software a while back and although running them on PC (other than some skinned versions, some versions have been available in the past as demos) other than in simple examples (?) is "doomed", the sources at least partially are available for packages like "MM5" and "FMS" ... getting them running may require quite a bit of effort and would think are very complex indeed.
 
FredGarvin said:
Models like the kind they are plastering all over CNN and such now a days are not off the shelf programs. They are going to be proprietary codes and are not going to be cheap.
I figured that some journal articles had probably been written on the subject and that they might contain code.
 
I do not have a good working knowledge of physics yet. I tried to piece this together but after researching this, I couldn’t figure out the correct laws of physics to combine to develop a formula to answer this question. Ex. 1 - A moving object impacts a static object at a constant velocity. Ex. 2 - A moving object impacts a static object at the same velocity but is accelerating at the moment of impact. Assuming the mass of the objects is the same and the velocity at the moment of impact...

Similar threads

  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
5K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
4K
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
2K
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
5K
Replies
1
Views
1K