Knowledge Swiss weather forecasts are produced using a new model

Swiss weather forecasts are being produced using a new model. This makes the forecasts more accurate - especially in the Alpine region, announced the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) on Tuesday.

The weather model called "Icon" depicts the complex topography of Switzerland more accurately than the model used previously, according to MeteoSwiss. This is particularly important for the Alpine region, where local weather events such as thunderstorms and mountain and valley wind systems frequently occur.

The weather model divides the surface of Switzerland and neighboring countries into triangles and the atmosphere above into several layers. Current data from radar and ground measuring stations is fed in for each of these segments. From this, "Icon" uses a computer simulation to calculate the changes in the atmosphere for the coming hours and days.

The MeteoSwiss weather model uses the new "Alps" supercomputer at the Swiss National Supercomputing Center (CSCS) in Lugano and Lausanne for the calculations.