Google Boosts Global Weather Model with Hourly Forecasts and Higher Resolution

Google has upgraded its global weather model, WeatherNext 3, which will now provide hourly forecasts at a resolution of 5 kilometers. This is an improvement over the previous model's 25-kilometer grid and six-hour refresh cycle.

The new model was built in collaboration with Google DeepMind and Google Research. It ingests live geostationary satellite data alongside traditional historical analysis to provide more accurate forecasts, particularly for precipitation.

According to Google, the model has achieved up to 50% improvement in precipitation accuracy for forecasts a day or more ahead. This is particularly significant in regions where high-resolution forecasting has been historically underserved due to supercomputing costs.