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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2009
The Central Forecast Office Headquarters (CFO) in Bracknell has a number of national and international functions including a co-located World Area and Regional Area Forecast Centre in support of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The CFO is also a Regional Meteorological Centre within the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and a National Meteorological Centre for the United Kingdom. The CFO receives considerable support from an operational numerical prediction model. There are two versions of the model: a global version has a horizontal resolution of about 150 km and is used to produce forecasts up to 6 days ahead twice daily from 0500 GMT and 1200 GMT starting conditions with results available by 0500 GMT and 1700 GMT, respectively. A regional version of the model has a horizontal resolution double that of the global version and is limited to the area bounded by 80° W –40° E, 30° N – 80° N, with the lateral boundaries updated by interpolations from the global model. The regional model is used to compute forecasts up to 36 hours ahead twice daily, with results available by 0300 GMT and 1500 GMT. The fine-mesh model is used mainly to provide detailed forecasts of precipitation, cloud, surface winds and temperatures, which are better specified on relatively small horizontal grids. Physical and sub-grid scale processes are parametrized in the numerical model.