Unifying Innovations in Forecasting Capabilities Workshop 2026

A UFS Collaboration Powered by EPIC

Monday, July 20, 2026 – Friday, July 24, 2026

College Park, MD & Online

Join us this July at the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in College Park, Maryland or online for the Unifying Innovations in Forecasting Capabilities Workshop 2026 (UIFCW26). This event is an excellent opportunity for community partners, across academia, industry, and government, to collaborate in our shared mission to advance forecasting capabilities. The objective of this workshop is to strengthen the understanding of our collaborative efforts to improve the Unified Forecast System (UFS), accelerate meaningful contributions, and measure progress more effectively.

We will continue to focus on integrating sectors of the Weather Enterprise and fostering a community aligned with EPIC’s mission, emphasizing government research and the crucial role of community building. UIFCW26 is dedicated to engaging and uniting our efforts to advance forecasting capabilities for a more informed future. The theme for this year’s workshop is a New Frontier: Optimizing New Technology in a Changing Weather Enterprise.

Stay tuned for more details on the workshop trainings and agenda, coming in late spring 2026.

Registration

Registration is now open and free! Click the button below to register for UIFCW26, either in person at the Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in College Park, Maryland, or virtually.

If you have ANY issues submitting the form, please reach out to EPIC Support (support.epic@noaa.gov ) to complete your registration.
In-person registration must be completed by Monday, July 6, 2026; there will be no on-site registration for in-person attendance.

2026 Workshop Schedule

Get ready for five incredible days of inspiration, learning, and connection. Whether you’re joining in-depth technical sessions or exploring broader topics, the schedule is designed to support your experience and interests.

Want a quick overview? Start with the Schedule at a Glance for a snapshot of each day.
Looking for details? Browse the Detailed Agenda to explore session topics, speaker lineups, and more.

Detailed Agenda

Times (EDT)	Monday, July 20th+
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM	Training 1 – Introduction to Running NWS Global NWP Models in Development Mode + Instructors: Walter Kolczynsk & Wei Huang Description: Learn how to run the National Weather Service (NWS) Global Workflow (GW), the driver behind Global Forecast System (GFS), Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS), the upcoming Seasonal Forecast System (SFS), and the Global Chemistry and Aerosol Forecast System (GCAFS), all of which are based on the UFS weather model. Participants will run a low-resolution GFS test case while learning how the workflow code and output are structured, and the capabilities of the recent public release. Participants who wish to participate in the hands-on portion should bring a laptop. Limited Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud resources will be available to those without another supported High Performance Computing (HPC) resource. Users with accounts on NOAA’s Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System 2 (WCOSS2), Ursa, or Gaea C6; MSU’s Hercules; or National Science Foundation(NSF)/ National Center for Atmospheric Research’s (NCAR) Derecho will be asked to use one of those machines to save AWS resources for those without. Objective: Learn how to run Global Workflow cases spanning many different configurations.	Training 2 – Adding Idealized Test Cases to the UFS Hierarchical System Development Framework + Instructors: Natalie Perlin, Ratko Vasic, Priya Pillai, Josh Kublnick Description: This training will introduce users to the Unified Forecast System (UFS) Hierarchical System Development (HSD) framework, with an emphasis on integrating a new test case into the HSD framework. Users will receive an overview of the framework (background, structure, workflow), followed by a walkthrough of the steps required to integrate a new test case. The walkthrough will consist of identifying prerequisite input and fix files, determining appropriate model configurations and compatible physics suites, as well as understanding the hierarchical placement and required modifications to the workflow scripts and files. The training will use the recently added Aquaplanet idealized test case as a basis for adding a new case to the UFS HSD framework, complementing the generalized walkthrough for case integration. Objective: Provide users with background on how to integrate a test case into the UFS HSD framework.
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM	Virtual Poster Session + Description \| The virtual poster slam provides an opportunity to present virtual poster presentations to the entire audience.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	LUNCH +
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM	Training 3 – Project EAGLE Training: Machine Learning Weather Forecasting on Microsoft Azure + Instructors: Alex Burrows & Mariah Pope Description: This training introduces participants to NOAA’s Experimental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Global and Limited-area Ensemble forecast system (EAGLE) running in near real time on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The course will cover the workflow and infrastructure supporting machine learning (ML)–based weather forecasting, including preprocessing pipelines, model training procedures, inference execution, and forecast verification techniques. Participants will also learn how Project EAGLE supports collaborative development and experimentation, including the process for contributing new machine learning models and workflows for operational-style inference and verification. The training is intended for both NOAA and external collaborators interested in developing, evaluating, and deploying ML-based forecasting applications within the EAGLE framework. Objective: Provide NOAA and non-NOAA participants with hands-on knowledge and practical guidance for using NOAA’s EAGLE forecasting system in a near-real-time cloud environment. Participants will learn the end-to-end workflow for machine learning weather forecasting, including data preprocessing, model training, inference, and verification, while also gaining an understanding of how to contribute new capabilities and models to Project EAGLE.
5:00 PM	Informal Happy Hour/Bowling Gathering + Location: Lucky Strike College Park - 9021 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD 20740

Times (EDT)	Tuesday, July 21st+
9:00 AM	Welcome + Welcome
9:10 AM	Keynote Presentation from the NOAA Administrator, Dr. Neil Jacobs + Keynote Presentation from the NOAA Administrator, Dr. Neil Jacobs
9:40 AM	NOAA Leadership Panel (NOS, NWS, OAR) This session brings together senior leadership from across NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), National Weather Service (NWS), and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric… + NOAA Leadership Panel (NOS, NWS, OAR) Description \| This session brings together senior leadership from across NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), National Weather Service (NWS), and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) for a cross-line office dialogue. Leaders will provide high-level briefings on their respective strategic priorities, core programmatic focus areas, and budgetary outlooks shaping the future of modeling, data assimilation (DA), and high-performance computing. Following brief introductory remarks, the floor will open for an extended Q&A session, offering attendees a unique opportunity to engage directly with leadership on how NOAA is advancing its Unified Forecast System (UFS) architecture and collaborative R2O (Research-to-Operations) pipelines.
10:40 AM	Morning Break + Morning Break
11:10 AM	Six Years of the UFS-R20 Project The UFS-R2O Project completed six years (2020-2026) of collaborative effort, significantly advancing UFS applications for operational use. The project was led by NOAA's NWS,… + Six Years of the UFS-R20 Project Description \| The UFS-R2O Project completed six years (2020-2026) of collaborative effort, significantly advancing UFS applications for operational use. The project was led by NOAA's NWS, OAR, and the academic community. The UFS-R2O project achieved substantial successes, including the operational transition of several key systems and numerous enhancements to UFS components and infrastructure. Key lessons learned and insights will be shared, highlighting their potential application to guide future similar R2O projects.
11:30 AM	EPIC: Retrospective + Goals Moving Forward This session will provide a retrospective of the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) program over the past five years, highlighting key accomplishments, lessons learned,… + EPIC: Retrospective + Goals Moving Forward Description \| This session will provide a retrospective of the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) program over the past five years, highlighting key accomplishments, lessons learned, EPIC's impact on the community, and future goals.
12:00 PM	LUNCH + LUNCH
1:00 PM	American Meteorological Society (AMS) Community Modeling Committee Updates This session will provide community updates from the AMS Ad-hoc Community Modeling Committee (CMC). + American Meteorological Society (AMS) Community Modeling Committee Updates Description \| This session will provide community updates from the AMS Ad-hoc Community Modeling Committee (CMC).
1:30 PM	NOAA's High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program Overview This session will provide an overview of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and HPCC programs and initiatives, including their current status and future… + NOAA's High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program Overview Description \| This session will provide an overview of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and HPCC programs and initiatives, including their current status and future directions, to enable NOAA and the broader weather enterprise to jointly advance the nation’s forecasting capabilities.
2:00 PM	Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) Integration This session will highlight the integration and operational deployment of the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS). Presenters will share foundational updates from the… + Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) Integration Description \| This session will highlight the integration and operational deployment of the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS). Presenters will share foundational updates from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and EPIC, outline the technical requirements for incorporating MPAS into Earth System Models (ESMs) and the UFS, and discuss flexible integration strategies. The session will also feature MPAS-Joint Effort for Data assimilation Integration (JEDI) storm-scale guidance, NOAA/Global Systems Laboratory's (GSL) future modeling roadmaps, and recent severe weather evaluation efforts.
3:30 PM	Afternoon Break + Afternoon Break
4:00 PM	Poster Session I Join us for an interactive 60-minute session highlighting the latest research in the Earth system modeling. Explore visual data displays, engage in rapid one-on-one discussions… + Poster Session I Description \| Join us for an interactive 60-minute session highlighting the latest research in the Earth system modeling. Explore visual data displays, engage in rapid one-on-one discussions with authors, and make the most of your networking time with colleagues from across the UFS community.
5:00 PM	Adjourn + Adjourn
5:30 PM	Networking Mixer Enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres and refreshing beverages while participating in fast, fun networking activities that make making new connections effortless. Bring your… + Networking Mixer Description \| Enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres and refreshing beverages while participating in fast, fun networking activities that make making new connections effortless. Bring your business cards, grab a drink, and get ready to expand your circle!

Times (EDT)	Wednesday, July 22nd+		Wednesday, July 22nd (New User/Student Parallel Track)+
9:00 AM	Welcome + Welcome
9:10 AM	Weather Briefing Meteorologist, Ben Woods will deliver a weather briefing for the local area. + Weather Briefing Description \| Meteorologist, Ben Woods will deliver a weather briefing for the local area.
9:20 AM	AIDA: Operational AI Data Assimilation from Level 1 Observations Recent advances in machine-learning weather prediction (MLWP) outperform traditional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models in accuracy and efficiency. Yet, they typically… + AIDA: Operational AI Data Assimilation from Level 1 Observations Description \| Recent advances in machine-learning weather prediction (MLWP) outperform traditional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models in accuracy and efficiency. Yet, they typically rely on traditional analysis or reanalysis data for initialization. To address this limitation, we will present Artificial Intelligence Data Assimilation (AIDA), an operational machine-learning DA system that estimates the global analysis state from multiple sources of Level-1 observational data, including satellite radiances and in situ measurements. When verified against near-term observations, such as radiosondes, AIDA produces analysis fields that are competitive with state-of-the-art NWP-based systems. We will also demonstrate the use of AIDA for observing system experiments (OSEs), substantially reducing the cost of evaluating observation sources while enabling assessment of the global observing system. Finally, we will describe the NOAA-NASA Joint Archive (NNJA)-AI dataset, an open, cloud-native collection of observational data critical to the development of AIDA and built with NOAA to accelerate global AI weather research.		Transition Period + Transition Period
9:30 AM			Welcome: New User/Student Track + Welcome: New User/Student Track
9:40 AM			Introduction to UFS: A Video Overview + Introduction to UFS: A Video Overview
9:50 AM	Data Assimilation (Part 1) The first two parts of this session will highlight cutting-edge advancements in DA across earth system modeling. Part 1 will focus on infrastructure and operational framework… + Data Assimilation (Part 1) Description \| The first two parts of this session will highlight cutting-edge advancements in DA across earth system modeling. Part 1 will focus on infrastructure and operational framework integration, highlighting JEDI-based applications across regional, hurricane, and coupled air-quality systems (Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS), Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS), and MPAS-Goddard Chemistry, Aerosol, Radiation, and Transport (GOCART)). The session will conclude with an open discussion on infrastructure development.		UFS Applications Overview This session will provide a high-level overview of the UFS, including its wide range of applications for both operations and research. + UFS Applications Overview Description \| This session will provide a high-level overview of the UFS, including its wide range of applications for both operations and research.
10:30 AM	Morning Break + Morning Break
11:00 AM	Data Assimilation (Part 2) Part 2 will explore fundamental methodological breakthroughs and AI integration, featuring data-driven weather prediction models and emulators (High‑Resolution Rapid Refresh… + Data Assimilation (Part 2) Description \| Part 2 will explore fundamental methodological breakthroughs and AI integration, featuring data-driven weather prediction models and emulators (High‑Resolution Rapid Refresh for Casting (HRRRCast), Machine‑learning Analogue Prediction for Casting (MAPCast)), hybrid physics-AI background ensembles, and non-parametric localization techniques. The session will conclude with an open discussion on next-generation DA methodologies.		Student Career Panel: Careers in Weather Enterprise This panel will highlight different careers in the Weather Enterprise and then answer any questions students may have about the panel’s experiences. + Student Career Panel: Careers in Weather Enterprise Description \| This panel will highlight different careers in the Weather Enterprise and then answer any questions students may have about the panel’s experiences.
12:00 PM	LUNCH + LUNCH
1:00 PM	Parallel Sessions: UFS Applications: (HAFS, Coastal) This session will highlight advancements in the UFS for coastal, marine, and hurricane forecasting, including recent developments within HAFS. Topics include DA, model… + Parallel Sessions: UFS Applications: (HAFS, Coastal) Description \| This session will highlight advancements in the UFS for coastal, marine, and hurricane forecasting, including recent developments within HAFS. Topics include DA, model coupling, high-resolution forecasting, coastal and ocean applications, marine and ecosystem prediction, and R2O efforts.	Parallel Sessions: UFS Applications (Air Quality, Land, SRW/RRFS) This session will highlight advancements in the UFS for Air Quality, Land, the Short-Range Weather App, and the Rapid Refresh Forecast System. Topics include RRFS and MPAS-JEDI… + Parallel Sessions: UFS Applications (Air Quality, Land, SRW/RRFS) Description \| This session will highlight advancements in the UFS for Air Quality, Land, the Short-Range Weather App, and the Rapid Refresh Forecast System. Topics include RRFS and MPAS-JEDI development, high-resolution forecasting, chemistry and aerosol modeling, smoke transport and fire emissions, land-surface and hydrometeorological prediction, and community modeling workflows.	Career Building Workshop Accelerate your professional journey in this interactive workshop featuring three concurrent action stations. Following a brief introduction, you can choose the station that… + Career Building Workshop Description \| Accelerate your professional journey in this interactive workshop featuring three concurrent action stations. Following a brief introduction, you can choose the station that fits your immediate goals: applying for jobs, both federal and contractor (Station 1), get rapid-fire resume feedback and networking tips (Station 2), or connecting research and work (Station 3). Bring your resume or laptop, grab a station "cheat sheet," and get ready to take your next professional step!
1:45 PM			HANDS-ON SESSION: JEDI-Edu Tutorial: Introducing Data Assimilation Methods in JEDI Using a Simple Two-Layer QG Model + HANDS-ON SESSION: JEDI-Edu Tutorial: Introducing Data Assimilation Methods in JEDI Using a Simple Two-Layer QG Model Training provided by CADRE
3:00 PM	Afternoon Break + Afternoon Break
3:30 PM	Parallel Sessions: Cross Cutting NWP Topics This session will highlight foundational advancements in infrastructure, coupling, and model evaluation across the UFS. Presenters will discuss core software upgrades,… + Parallel Sessions: Cross Cutting NWP Topics Description \| This session will highlight foundational advancements in infrastructure, coupling, and model evaluation across the UFS. Presenters will discuss core software upgrades, including portable microphysics code and strategies to overcome development barriers in next-generation modeling. The session will also focus on unified system coupling—spanning atmospheric chemistry, ocean components, and land-atmosphere interactions—alongside community-driven verification and validation enhancements.	Parallel Sessions: UFS Applications (Global Workflow, SFS, S2S, AR) This session will focus on implementing the UFS global workflow and on upcoming major system upgrades. Presenters will provide comprehensive overviews and physics advancements… + Parallel Sessions: UFS Applications (Global Workflow, SFS, S2S, AR) Description \| This session will focus on implementing the UFS global workflow and on upcoming major system upgrades. Presenters will provide comprehensive overviews and physics advancements for the next Global Forecast System version17 (GFSv17). Additionally, the session will highlight progress on NOAA’s Seasonal Forecast System (SFS), including evaluation metrics against Climate Forecast System version2 (CFSv2), initialization strategies, stakeholder engagement, and the impact of ocean coupling on forecasting extreme events such as atmospheric rivers.	HANDS-ON SESSION Cont... JEDI-Edu Tutorial: Introducing Data Assimilation Methods in JEDI Using a Simple Two-Layer QG Model + HANDS-ON SESSION Cont... JEDI-Edu Tutorial: Introducing Data Assimilation Methods in JEDI Using a Simple Two-Layer QG Model Training provided by CADRE
4:15 PM			Tour of the University of Maryland + Tour of the University of Maryland
5:15 PM	Adjourn + Adjourn

Times (EDT)	Thursday, July 23rd+
9:00 AM	Welcome + Welcome
9:10 AM	Parallel Sessions: Research to Operations to Research (R2O2R) This session will focus on advancing the end-to-end UFS R2O pipeline, including operational forecasting applications, sustainable development workflows, AI and machine-learning… + Parallel Sessions: Research to Operations to Research (R2O2R) Description \| This session will focus on advancing the end-to-end UFS R2O pipeline, including operational forecasting applications, sustainable development workflows, AI and machine-learning forecasting frameworks, improvements in air quality and wildfire prediction, hurricane surge modeling, and feedback mechanisms that accelerate the transition of emerging science into NOAA’s operational forecasting systems.	Transition Period + Transition Period
9:20 AM		Parallel Sessions: Data Assimilation (Part 3) The final part of this session will explore advancements in coupled DA and the integration of novel observation types. Presenters will highlight land-atmosphere, ocean, and sea… + Parallel Sessions: Data Assimilation (Part 3) Description \| The final part of this session will explore advancements in coupled DA and the integration of novel observation types. Presenters will highlight land-atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice coupling strategies, focusing on background error covariance and forcing errors within the RRFS and HAFS frameworks. Additionally, the session will examine innovative application data—including radar-derived boundary layer depths, convection-scale interactions, and all-sky infrared radiances—before concluding with a community discussion.
10:45 AM	Morning Break + Morning Break
11:15 AM	Community Engagement This session will highlight community engagement efforts related to the UFS and showcases opportunities for collaboration across the broader user community, Weather Program… + Community Engagement Description \| This session will highlight community engagement efforts related to the UFS and showcases opportunities for collaboration across the broader user community, Weather Program Office (WPO) Innovation for Next Generation Scientists (WINGS) fellows, and students or new users. Presenters will emphasize interdisciplinary partnerships, knowledge sharing, and effective communication of science across various audiences.
12:00 PM	LUNCH + LUNCH
1:00 PM	AI4NWP at NOAA: Progress, Partnerships, and the Path Forward This talk will highlight how NOAA is advancing Artificial Intelligence for Numerical Weather Prediction (AI4NWP) across the agency, showcasing successes that extend beyond any… + AI4NWP at NOAA: Progress, Partnerships, and the Path Forward Description \| This talk will highlight how NOAA is advancing Artificial Intelligence for Numerical Weather Prediction (AI4NWP) across the agency, showcasing successes that extend beyond any single initiative, including Experimental AI Global and Limited-area Ensemble (EAGLE) forecast system. We will review key achievements, lessons learned, and the collaborations, infrastructure, and research efforts that are accelerating the integration of AI into operational weather prediction.
1:30 PM	Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) (Part 1) This session will explore the rapid advancement and operational integration of AI/ML within NWP. Presenters will highlight NOAA’s Project EAGLE, focusing on global and coupled… + Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) (Part 1) Description \| This session will explore the rapid advancement and operational integration of AI/ML within NWP. Presenters will highlight NOAA’s Project EAGLE, focusing on global and coupled Earth system emulators, as well as specialized regional AI models such as the convective-scale Warn‑on‑Forecast System for Casting (WoFSCast), the DA-ready HRRRCast ensemble, and generative tropical cyclone (TC) tools like TC-Cast. Finally, the presentations will address the strategic value of variable-resolution models and review real-world AI performance metrics gathered during the 2026 NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Spring Forecasting Experiment.
3:00 PM	Poster Session II + Afternoon Break Share your research, use case, or innovation with fellow community members during this poster session. + Poster Session II + Afternoon Break Description \| Share your research, use case, or innovation with fellow community members during this poster session.
4:00 PM	Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) (Part 2) + Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) (Part 2)
5:30 PM	Adjourn + Adjourn

Times (EDT)	Friday, July 24th+
9:00 AM	Welcome + Welcome
9:10 AM	Machine Learning This session will explore how ML and deep learning are advancing predicting capabilities and operational efficiency across Earth system modeling. Presenters will highlight how… + Machine Learning Description \| This session will explore how ML and deep learning are advancing predicting capabilities and operational efficiency across Earth system modeling. Presenters will highlight how data-driven techniques are being integrated into the UFS ecosystem to model complex environmental phenomena, ranging from regional air quality and high-resolution vegetation dynamics to physics-guided compound flooding. Additionally, the session will showcase how ML frameworks are being leveraged behind the scenes to optimize and accelerate the core software development cycles of next-generation Earth system models.
10:10 AM	Morning Break + Morning Break
10:20 AM	High-Performance Computing (HPC)/Cloud This session will examine cutting-edge computational advancements designed to modernize HPC workflows and accelerate R2O transitions within the UFS. Presenters will highlight… + High-Performance Computing (HPC)/Cloud Description \| This session will examine cutting-edge computational advancements designed to modernize HPC workflows and accelerate R2O transitions within the UFS. Presenters will highlight infrastructure upgrades across NOAA's Research and Development HPCS (RDHPCS) and EPIC’s pre-configured public cloud environments, with a strong focus on software flexibility, reproducibility, and automation. The presentations will showcase the containerization of Earth system and weather models using spack-stack libraries, cloud-integrated CI/CD pipelines, and scalable architectures designed to enable next-generation exascale modeling.
11:30 AM	Pair & Share Conclusion Activity The goal of this interactive session is to reflect on the key findings and takeaways from the workshop. Participants will be paired for a 60-minute discussion facilitated by… + Pair & Share Conclusion Activity Description \| The goal of this interactive session is to reflect on the key findings and takeaways from the workshop. Participants will be paired for a 60-minute discussion facilitated by moderators. This session will offer an opportunity for meaningful and interactive discussion among all stakeholder groups.
12:30 PM	Adjourn - Travel Home! + Adjourn - Travel Home!

* All times in Mountain Daylight Time

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

September 8, 2025

11:00 am | Virtual Poster Slam

MC | Joshua Kublnick, NOAA/EPIC

Presentation slides: Welcome (PPTX)

Speakers | A to I ( + show )

Speakers | J to O ( + show )

Speakers | P to S ( + show )

Speakers | T to Z ( + show )

1:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Training 1 | Compile and Run the UFS Global- Workflow using a Container Image (Singularity) on a variety of Platforms

In-person attendees | Room 2126

Virtual attendees | See Participant Instruction Email

1:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Training 2 | Artificial Intelligence in Weather Modeling Training

In-person attendees | North Bay

Virtual attendees | See Participant Instruction Email

5:00 pm | Hike With Alison Gregory

Description | Enjoy scenic trails behind the NCAR Mesa Lab. The length of the hike can vary based on attendee interest.

The free UCAR/NCAR shuttle will leave Center Green at 4:33pm and arrive at Mesa Lab by 5pm. The last shuttle back to Center Green is at 6:00pm. Local rideshare options are also available.

Hike Location: Approximately 20 minutes from Center Green

Meet at NCAR - Table Mesa Trail

1850 Table Mesa Dr

Boulder, CO 80305

September 9, 2025

8:00 am | Registration

In-Person Attendees | Registration will begin in the UCAR Center Green lobby.

Virtual Attendees | If you have any general questions about UIFCW, you can ask them in the SLIDO chat space.

9:00 am | Welcome and Kickoff

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

MC | Jan Ising, NOAA/OAR/WPO/EPIC

Presentation slides: Welcome (PDF) | Welcome (PPTX)

9:15 am | Opening Remarks by Dr. Everette Joseph, NCAR Director

Speaker | Everette Joseph, NCAR

Presentation slide: (PDF) | (PPTX)

9:30 am | State of the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) and the Unified Forecast System (UFS)

Description | This session provides an overview of the state of the science for EPIC and the UFS. It highlights success stories and their impact on the community, and future goals of EPIC and UFS.

Speakers |

Kevin Garrett, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Maoyi Huang, NOAA/OAR/WPO/EPIC

Vijay Tallapragada, NOAA/NWS/NCEP EMC

Saeed Moghimi, NOAA/NOS/OCS

Presentation slides: State of the Earth Prediction Innovation Center and the Unified Forecast System (PDF) | (PPTX)

10:15 am | BREAK

10:45 am | Testing and Continuous Integration Updates

Description | This session will provide an update on what the community is doing towards making the UFS code base robust by adding testing frameworks and infrastructure ranging from unit tests, functional tests, all the way up to regression and end-to-end tests. Additionally, the session can solicit abstracts describing the tools and techniques being used to build and automate the testing and integration.

Speakers |

Alex Richert, RedLine Performance Solutions/NOAA EMC

Marshall Ward, NOAA - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Presentation slides: Testing & continuous integration updates in UFS (PDF) | (PPTX)

11:30 am | Current Status of Earth System Models

Description | This session will present perspectives on cross-organizational collaboration and community integration in the development of earth system models.

Speakers |

Alistair Sellar, UK Met Office

David Lawrence, NSF NCAR

Presentation slides: Momentum partnership: Multi-institute model evaluation and development across time and space scales (PDF) | (PPTX)

Presentation slides: Integrating the Community into the Development, Use, and Support of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) (PDF) | (PPTX)

12:00 pm | LUNCH

1:00 pm | Data Assimilation Update and Discussion

Description | This session will be a panel discussion on community Data Assimilation support. Brief updates in the field of Data Assimilation from the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA), the Joint Effort for Data Assimilation Integration (JEDI), the Transatlantic Data Science Academy (TDSA) and Consortium for Data Assimilation Research and Education (CADRE) are also planned to be touched on. Audience engagement is strongly encouraged.

Speakers |

Jan Ising, NOAA/OAR/WPO/EPIC

Xuguang Wang, University of Oklahoma/CADRE

John Ten Hoeve, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Tom Auligne, UCAR-JCSDA

Dan Holdaway, NOAA/NWS/NCEP/EMC

Zhaoxia Pu, University of Utah

Presentation slides: Main Priorities at EMC; Q&A (PDF) | (PPTX)

Presentation slides: How to advance data assimilation through community engagement and support? CADRE’s perspectives. (PDF) | (PPTX)

2:00 pm | UFS Coupling: How the UFS Is Being Expanded to Include Additional Environmental Modeling Components

Description | This session will be divided into three parts. The first part will present an overview of UFS components, their coupling, and highlights of newly developed capabilities. The second part will focus on software modernization and the future of coupling techniques, moving beyond the current Earth System Modeling Framework / National Unified Operational Prediction Capability Earth System Modeling Framework / National Unified Operational Prediction Capability (ESMF/NUOPC) approach. The third part will be an open discussion covering both subjects.

Speakers |

Ligia Bernardet, NOAA GSL/DTC

Ann Tsay, UCAR

Hendrik L. Tolman, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Presentation slides: UFS Coupling: How the UFS Is Being Expanded to Include Additional Environmental Modeling Components (PDF) | (PPTX)

Presentation slides: The Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) Update (PDF) | (PPTX)

Presentation slides: Software modernization for the UFS: A position paper (PDF) | (PPTX)

3:00 pm | BREAK

3:30 pm | NOAA's AI Transformation

Description | This presentation will detail NOAA's AI strategy, NCAI's implementation activities, and available AI-ready resources to empower the UFS and other communities.

Speakers |

Robert Redmon, NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI/NCAI

Jun Wang, NOAA/NWS/NCEP/EMC

Presentation slides: NOAA’s AI Transformation (PDF)

4:00 pm | Keynote: Coupled modeling to improve marine weather forecasts of winds and waves for maritime shipping

Description | Sofar operates a global network of free drifting and moored in situ metocean buoys known as Spotters. Since 2019, Sofar has run an operational wave forecast system that assimilates the Spotter data and satellite altimeter observations in order to produce 4x-daily operational global wave forecasts, using wind forcing from external forecast products. For the last few years, Sofar has been developing a coupled forecast system using model components of the UFS - including the FV3-GFS (GFDL SHiELD version) and WaveWatchIII, with a ESMF/NUOPC coupler framework and the CMEPS mediator. This configuration enables ocean surface observations from Spotters and satellites to enhance surface winds forecasts, and extending wave forecast skill. In our latest evaluation, we have found that the new coupled forecast system produces marine wind forecasts that outperform ECMWF's HRES (49r1) out to 40 hours and wave forecasts that outperform out to 100 hours, on average, compared to observations. Through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with GFDL, EMC, and the Navy, we are continuing to advance the coupled modeling configuration to further improve forecast performance at the air-sea interface, as we plan a full rollout of our coupled model for 4x-daily operational forecasts of marine winds and waves.

Speaker | Stephen G. Penny, Sofar Ocean

Presentation slides: Coupled modeling to improve marine weather forecasts of winds and waves for maritime shipping (PDF)

4:30 pm | Meet The Community Panel Discussion

Description | This panel discussion will focus on the user side of the community. Organizations that are using and/or interested in using the UFS

Moderated by | Hendrik L. Tolman, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Panelists |

Serena Lipari, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Craig Setzer, Royal Caribbean Group

Patricia Vollmer, Department of Defense (DoD)/NORAD & US Northern Command

Andrew Winters, University of Colorado Boulder

Presentation slides: Meet the community panel discussion (PDF)

5:45 pm | Networking Mixer

In-Person Attendees | UCAR Center Green lobby.

Description | A presentation will be given by the Boulder National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Science and Operations Officer, followed by ice breakers and Hors d'oeuvres.

Speaker | Paul Schlatter, NOAA/NWS Boulder Weather Forecast Office

Presentation slides: The NWS Boulder Forecast Office: NWP Driving Decision Support (PDF) | (PPTX)

7:15 pm | Informal Gathering at Avery Brewery Taproom and Restaurant

4910 Nautilus Ct. N (10 minutes from Center Green)

September 10, 2025

8:00 am | Registration

In-Person Attendees | Registration will begin in the UCAR Center Green lobby.

Virtual Attendees | If you have any general questions about UIFCW, you can ask them in the SLIDO chat space.

9:00 am | Welcome and Kickoff

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

MC | Shira Francis, NOAA/NWS/OSTI-M/IBSS

Presentation slides: Welcome (PDF) | Welcome (PPTX)

9:05 am | NOAA - Current Status and Priorities

Description | NOAA leadership will share programmatic and budgetary priorities in numerical weather prediction in FY25 and looking forward to FY26

Speakers |

Gina Eosco, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Steve Smith, NOAA/NWS

Mark Osler, NOAA/NOS

Presentation slides: NOAA - Current Status and Priorities (PDF) | (PPTX)

9:20 am | Student/Lapenta Presentations

Description | This session will feature student presentations on community modeling.

Speakers |

Rowin Smith - The UFS Student Experience: Accomplishments, Challenges, and Recommendations (PDF) | (PPTX)

Michael Kwadwo Benneh - Aerosol Data Assimilation Using Global Chemistry And Aerosol Forecast System (Gcafs)/Jedi (PDF) | (PPTX)

McKenzie Larson - Evaluation of initial condition blending within MPAS to inform RRFSv2 (PDF) | (PPTX)

Shreyas Dhavale - Case studies of the Monsoon Onset Vortex and early season Monsoon features using the UFS coupled model (PDF) | (PPTX)

Anna Glodzik - Evaluating UFS Heat and Moisture Fluxes Using Eddy Covariance Observations from the New York State Mesonet (PPTX)

10:20 am | BREAK

10:25 am - New User/Student Parallel Track Begins

In-Person Attendees | North Bay

10:45 am | UFS Community Social Science Survey Results

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

Description | This session will present the results for the UFS Community Survey. These results will be used to build a stronger UFS community and better understand science-based team dynamics.

Speakers |

Alison Gregory, UCAR CPAESS

Hannah Love, Divergent Science LLC

Presentation slides: UFS Community Social Science Survey Results (PPTX)

11:15 am | UFS Coastal Project Overview

Description | This session will provide an over of the UFS Coastal project, led by the NCAR ESMF team and the National Ocean Service (NOS) Office of Coast Survey (OCS) Storm Surge Modeling Team, in partnership with the EPIC, aims to establish a prototype application-level framework (UFS Coastal App) for coastal forecasting requirements.

Speaker | Saeed Moghimi, NOAA/NOS/OCS

Presentation slides: UFS Coastal Project Update (PPTX)

12:00 pm | LUNCH

1:00 pm | Parallel Sessions with Q&A

Description | Two concurrent sessions will provide updates on global applications across scales and data assimilation.

UFS Application - Global Applications Across Scales

Description | This session will focus on advancements in the UFS for global applications across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, medium-range weather prediction, atmospheric river forecasting, and subseasonal to seasonal outlooks. We welcome contributions on global workflows, model infrastructure, physics and dynamics, Earth system component model development and coupling strategies, as well as verification methodologies. Presenters are encouraged to address forecasting challenges, operational integration, and emerging scientific and technological innovations in Earth system modeling.

In-Person Attendees | South Bay

Moderated by | Fanglin Yang, NWS/NCEP/EMC

Speakers |

Catherine Thomas - Overview of the Next Global Forecast System GFSv17 (PDF)

Bing Fu - GEFSv13 updates (PDF)

Philip Pegion - NOAA's Seasonal Forecast System (PPTX)

Justin Perket- 2-Way Coupling the GFDL Land Model with FV3 Atmosphere in UFS (PDF)

Lisa Bengtsson - Improving Tropical Variability in the UFS for S2S Prediction (PPTX)

Jian-Wen Bao - Numerical behavior of two land surface models as a significant contributor to biases in the UFS prediction of CAPE over the CONUS (PPTX)

Benjamin Moore - Impacts of tropical forecast errors on weeks 3–4 extreme precipitation predictions over California during winter 2022–23 (PDF) | (PPT)

Daniel R. Adriaansen - New Capabilities for Evaluating Land-Atmosphere Coupling in UFS Prototypes using METplus (PPTX)

Wei Huang - Run SFS global-workflow on AWS (PPTX)

Juliana Dias - Development of an MJO test bed to support UFS global applications (PDF)

Cross-Cutting - Data Assimilation

Description | Data Assimilation (DA) is a critical component of Earth System Prediction. In this session, presentations will feature cutting-edge research on DA, DA applications, innovative observing techniques and coupled DA processes. Challenges and opportunities in data assimilation may also be addressed.

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

Moderated by | Sergey Frolov, NOAA/OAR/PSL

Speakers |

Jonathan (JJ) Guerrette - Evaluation of the Tomorrow.io Microwave Sounder constellation with a JEDI-UFS-based and GDAS-inspired NWP system (PDF)

Ming Hu - Progress of implementing MPAS-JEDI for next version of the operation Rapid Refresh Forecast System (PPTX)

Christian Sampson - A Hybrid Tangent Linear Model in JEDI (PPTX)

Peter Jan van Leeuwen - On the efficient implementation of non-Gaussian observation errors in existing DA schemes (PPTX)

Sergey Frolov - Towards end-to-end machine learning models that combine forecast with data assimilation (PDF)

Clara Draper - Land Data Assimilation Activities for Global NWP at NOAA (PDF)

Lindsey Hayden - Space Weather Data Assimilation Capabilities in the JEDI System (PPTX)

Hyun-Sook Kim - Marine JEDI system and MOM6 analysis for application to improve UFS-HAFS forecast (PPTX)

3:00 pm | BREAK

3:30 pm | Emerging Technologies: Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

Description | This session invites developers/scientists who are actively working on topics included but not limited to: The development and operationalization of partial/full data-driven models for short-, mid- long-term weather forecasting, AI-based parametrization, novel techniques for accuracy improvement using AI in DA and/or post-processing, software/hardware engineering aspects related to model development, data acquisition, scalability on training and inference, etc.

Speakers |

Jun Wang - Data-driven MLWP model development for global weather forecasts (PPTX)

Sergey Frolov - NOAA EAGLE: research to operations pipeline for AI weather models at NOAA (PDF)

David Hall - Enhancing the Unified Forecast System with NVIDIA Earth-2: AI Research in Emulation, Downscaling, and Data Assimilation (PPTX)

Corey Potvin - Enhancing WoFSCast Calibration and Sharpness with a Probabilistic Loss (PDF)

Ling Lu - A Physics-informed Machine Learning Algorithm for Satellite, In-situ and High-frequency Radar Data Assimilation Preprocessing for West Coast Forecast System using Joint Effort for Data Integration Framework: WCOFS-JEDI-AI (PDF)

James Conley - AI-Enabled UFS: Fortran to CUDA Code Translation for Accelerated Computing (PPTX)

5:00 pm | Creating Better Feedback Loops Between Users and Developers Panel Discussion

Description | This panel discussion explores effective strategies for bridging the communication gap between users and development teams. We will discuss best practices for translating raw user feedback into tangible product improvements, driving innovation that satisfies user needs while upholding evolving software standards.

Moderated by | Alicia Bentley, NOAA/NWS EMC

Panelists |

Kodi Berry, NOAA/OAR/NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

Michelle Harrold, NSF NCAR/RAL/DTC

Logan Poole, NOAA/NWS

Leticia Williams, NOAA/NWS

Castle Williamsberg, FedWriters Supporting NOAA/OAR/WPO

Presentation slides: Creating Better Feedback Loops Between Users and Developers Panel Discussion (PPTX)

5:45 pm | Adjourn

___________________________

Wednesday, September 10, 2025: New User/Student Parallel Track

10:00 am | Registration

In-Person Attendees | Registration will begin in the UCAR Center Green lobby.

Virtual Attendees | If you have any general questions about UIFCW, you can ask them in the SLIDO chat space.

10:20 am | BREAK

10:25 am | Welcome and Kickoff

In-Person Attendees | North Bay

MC | Jason R. Anderson, NWS OSTI-Modeling

Presentation slides: Welcome (PPTX)

10:30 am | Overview of Operational Models

Description | This session will highlight and provide an overview of the operational models within the weather forecast system.

Speaker | Vijay Tallapragada, NOAA/NWS/NCEP EMC

Presentation slides: Overview of Operational Modeling at NOAA's Environmental Modeling Center (Future Modeling and Development Center - MDC) (PDF)

11:30 am | UFS 101: Introduction to the Unified Forecast System

Description | This session will provide the fundamentals of the UFS, how it works and ways it can be used for community modeling.

Speaker | Hendrik L. Tolman, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Presentation slides: UFS 101 (PDF) | (PPT - small) | (PPT - large)

12:00 pm | LUNCH

1:00 pm | Intro to Data Assimilation, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Description | This session will provide an overview of data assimilation and artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Speakers |

Daryl Kleist, NOAA/NWS/NCEP/EMC

Stephen Haddad, UK Met Office

Presentation slides: Stimulating innovation through the Data Science User Journey (PPTX)

Animation: Observations Assimilated in the GMAO GEOS-5 Analysis at 0000 UTC on 10 Dec 2014 (MP4)

1:30 pm | Academic Research that benefits NOAA

Description | This session will highlight ways academic research is being used to benefit NOAA.

Speakers |

Sen Chiao, NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology/Howard University

Sarah Lu, University at Albany, SUNY

Benjamin Cash, George Mason University

Joseph Chan, Department of Geography, The Ohio State University

Presentation slides: Two Decades of Partnership with NOAA Line Offices: Challenges and Opportunities for the NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M) (PPTX)

Presentation slides: Academic research that benefits NOAA: UAlbany experiences (PPTX)

Presentation slides: Resolution Dependence in the Seasonal Forecast System (PPTX)

Presentation slides: Benefitting NOAA by Improving the Exploitation of Obs in EnsDA (PPTX)

2:30 pm | BREAK

3:00 pm | Starting Your Career in NOAA: Resources and Getting Your Foot in the Door

Description | This panel discussion will provide strategies to help individuals launch a career within NOAA.

Speakers |

Alison Gregory, UCAR CPAESS

Logan Poole, NOAA/NWS

Tracy Fanara, Inspector Planet, Project ENKI

Jennifer Vogt, NOAA/OAR/WPO/EPIC

Presentation slides: Starting Your Career at NOAA (PPTX)

3:45 pm | Effective Ways to Network

Description | This session will provide strategies and techniques to help individuals network within NOAA.

Moderated by | Mike Ek, NCAR/RAL

Speakers |

Karimar Ledesma-Maldonado, Northern Illinois University

Jacob Carstens, University of North Dakota, Department of Atmospheric Sciences

Aaron Pratt, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Segayle C. Thompson, PhD., NOAA/OAR/WPO

Hendrik L. Tolman, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Mike Ek, NCAR/RAL

Benjamin Patrick Woods, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Presentation slides: Effective Ways to Network (PPTX)

4:30 pm | Adjourn

September 11, 2025

9:00 am | Welcome and Kickoff

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

MC | Rowin Smith, Colgate University, NOAA William M. Lapenta Internship

Presentation slides: Welcome (PPTX)

9:15 am | Research to Operations (R2O) facets and how to engage in R2O to advance the UFS

Description | This session will foster a dialogue with panelists representing various facets of the R2O process for the Unified Forecast System. The panelists will include representatives from the UFS R2O/SFS projects, NOAA’s Weather Program Office (WPO) and NOAA’s Testbeds and Proving Grounds. The session will kick-off with short presentations directed at familiarizing the workshop participants with the UFS R2O and SFS projects, current UFS related activities in NOAA’s Testbeds and how NOAA WPO supports the R2O process.

Moderated by | Andrea J. Ray, Ph.D., NOAA Research Physical Sciences Lab

Speakers |

Kevin Garrett, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Jordan Dale, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Andrea J. Ray, Ph.D., NOAA Research Physical Sciences Lab

Panelists |

Kevin Garrett, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Jordan Dale, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Andrea J. Ray, Ph.D., NOAA/OAR/Physical Sciences Lab (PSL)

Jim Nelson, NOAA/NWS/WPC

Chandra Kondragunta, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Jacob Carley, NOAA/NWS/NCEP/EMC

Kathryn Newman, NSF NCAR/DTC

Presentation slides: Research to Operations (R2O) facets and how to engage in R2O to advance the UFS (PPTX)

9:30 am to 12:00 pm - Training 3 | Introduction to Running Idealized Test Cases via the UFS Hierarchical System Development (HSD) Framework

In-Person Attendees | Room 2603

Virtual Attendees | See Participant Instruction Email

9:30 am to 12:00 pm - Training 4 | NOAA AI Learning Journeys Tutorial

In-Person Attendees | Room 2126

Virtual Attendees | See Participant Instruction Email

10:15 am | US Navy's Earth System Prediction Capability Efforts by Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Enterprise

Description | This session highlights the new global Navy Earth System Prediction Capability (Navy‐ESPC) coupled atmosphere‐ocean‐sea ice prediction system developed at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for operational forecasting for timescales of days to the subseasonal.

Speaker | Shastri Paturi, Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC)

Presentation slides: The US Navy Earth System Prediction Capability (Navy ESPC): Overview and Future Developments (PDF) | (PPTX)

10:45 am | Fire Behavior Model Being Coupled to the UFS

Description | This session will provide an overview of the newly integrated Community Fire Behavior Model (CFBM) within the UFS Short-Range Weather (SRW) Application v3.0.0. A subject matter expert will explain how coupled fire-atmosphere interactions can be simulated on high-resolution nested grids, enhancing the ability to forecast wildfire behavior.

Speakers | Pedro Jimenez, NSF NCAR

Presentation slides: Fire Behavior model being coupled to the UFS (PDF) | (PPTX)

11:15 am | Poster Session

Description | Posters and their authors will be arranged in a gallery-style walkthrough in the main lobby. Conference participants are invited to meet and discuss science topics at length with authors.

Speakers | A to I ( + show )

Ronnie Abolafia-Rosenzweig - Enhancing snowpack physics in Noah-MP land model to improve S2S prediction of precipitation and droughts

Niraj Agarwal - Utilizing UFS Coupled Model Outputs to Build Independent and Coupled Earth System Emulators

John Albers - Developing an S2S Forecast System for Predicting US Coastal Inundation Risk

Joao Marcos Azevedo Correia de Souza - The roadmap to developing the new NOAA coupled reanalysis

Jian-Wen Bao - A process comparison of two PBL schemes in the Unified Forecast System in a case study of fog forecast

Michael Barlage - Impacts of a Modified Surface Representation in UFS/NoahMP Simulations

Ananyo Bhattacharya - Operational Short-Term Weather Forecasting for the Great Lakes Region: Coupling RRFSv1 and FVCOM-CICE for Lake Effect Precipitation

Jorge Humberto Bravo Mendez - Exploring MPAS-A outputs on its native hexagonal mesh with Python

John Edward Murray Brown - The U. S. Navy Earth System Prediction Capability: Overview and Future Developments

Maggie Bruckner - Assessing biomass burning emissions in UFS-Chem version 1 during the 2023 AGES+ field campaign

D. Alex Burrows - Supporting AI/ML Weather Prediction in NOAA: A Flexible Verification Pipeline with wxvx

Forest Cannon - Impact of Tomorrow.io’s Satellite Constellation on Global Precipitation Observation and Prediction

Randy Chase - ICgen: A method to generate initial conditions from Tomorrow.io’s constellation of microwave sounders using score based data assimilation

Nate Crossette - Multi-scale background error localization using SABER spectral filters with MPAS

Jack Elston - Into the Tempest: Black Swift's Autonomous Eye in the Hurricane Providing Critical Data for Improved UFS and Ecological Understanding

Gonzalo A. Ferrada - Predicting Fire Emissions for subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) Forecasts

Yanjun Gan - Advancing Snow Temperature Data Assimilation in Global Forecast System (GFS)

Maria Gehne - Tropical Variability in GraphCast vs GFSv16: What does the Neural Network learn?

Maxfield Green - Tomorrow.io operates a km-scale weather prediction model adapted from generative corrective diffusion

Jayesh K. Gupta - Weather Foundation Models: Global to Regional to Hyper-local

Clementine Hardy Gas - Enabling And Validating Ensemble Data Assimilation Scenarios In JEDI / FV3-Based Models Using The SkyLab Workflow

Christina Holt - Packaging UFS Applications for Use in Community-based Development

Michael Hosek - Quantifying the Value of Convection-Allowing Global-Nested Ensembles for Extended-Range Severe Weather Forecasting

Bo Huang - Evaluation of Aerosols Forecast Skill in GCAFS Using NOAA’s Global Aerosol Reanalysis Product

Bo Huang - Improving Computational Efficiency of JEDI GETKF for Coupled UFS Applications

Wei Huang - Run global-workflow with Singularity container

Faozia Anzum Itu - Simulation of Landfall Dynamics and Influencing Factors of Cyclone Remal Using High-Resolution WRF-ARW Model

Speakers | J to O ( + show )

Speakers | P to S ( + show )

Speakers | T to Z ( + show )

12:00 pm | LUNCH

1:00 pm | Parallel Sessions with Q&A

UFS Application – Coastal, Marine, Oceans and Ecology

In-Person Attendees | North Bay

Description | This session will showcase developments in the UFS for coastal, marine, ocean, and ecological applications, including advancements in the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS). Topics may include model coupling, data assimilation, physics improvements, and applications for forecasting and ecosystem predictions. Contributions on operational implementation and research advancements are also welcome.

Moderated by | Tracy Fanara, Inspector Planet, Project ENKI

Speakers |

Ayumi Fujisaki-Manome - NOAA Unified Forecast System Coastal Applications Team (UFS CAT) Model Evaluation (PPTX)

Joseph Knisely - Obstacles for High-Resolution HAFS over the Entire Atlantic Basin (PPTX)

Kristin N. Barton - Progress on the Development of an Arctic Regional Coupled UFS Application (UFS-Arctic) (PPTX)

Scott Durski - Coupling CICE to SCHISM in UFS coastal: Lessons learned while working towards a coupled ice-ocean forecast system for Alaska (PDF) | (PPTX - large) | (PPT - small)

William Ramstrom - Multiple Moving Nests and Telescoping Nests Advancements for HAFS (PDF)

Saeed Memari - Real-World Evaluation of the UFS Coastal Application: Two-Way Coupled Wave–Circulation Modeling during the 2021 Hurricane Season (PPTX)

Joseph Zhang - Development of a new operational forecast system for southeastern US (SECOFS) (PPTX)

Yunfang Sun - Development and Implementation of Regression Tests and Applications within the UFS-Coastal Framework (PPTX)

HaoCheng Yu - Recent SCHISM coupling development under NOAA's UFS-coastal framework (PPTX)

Ali Abdolali - Triton-c: Wind Wave Modeling on Unstructured Grids Using a Modern C++ Framework (PDF)

Kathryn Newman - Recent METplus advancements for verifying HAFS forecasts (PPTX)

UFS Application – Short-Range Weather (SRW) Application, Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS) and Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS)

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

Description | This session will highlight advancements in the UFS SRW App, the RRFS, and the MPAS. This session should focus on model development, data assimilation, physics enhancements, and verification efforts to improve high-impact, short-range weather forecasts. Contributions on system performance, operational readiness, and emerging research are encouraged.

Moderated by | Curtis Alexander, NOAA/OAR/GSL

Speakers |

Matthew E. Pyle - Updates on Rapid Refresh Forecast System Version 1 (PPTX)

Israel Jirak - Evaluation of RRFSv1 during the 2025 NOAA HWT Spring Forecasting Experiment (PPTX)

Dustin Swales - Implementation of the MPAS Dynamical Core in the Unified Forecast System Weather Model (PPTX)

Clark Evans - NOAA/GSL Model Development and Forecasting Activities Toward RRFSv2 Using MPAS (PPTX)

Adam Clark - MPAS evaluations for severe weather forecasting during the 2025 NOAA/Hazardous Weather Testbed Spring Forecasting Experiment (PDF) | (PPTX)

Michelle Harrold - Recent advancements in METplus for RRFS and MPAS verification (PPTX)

Curtis Alexander - A Discussion on Sustaining SRW/CAM Development Agility While Advancing UFS Capabilities (PPTX)

UFS Application – Air Quality, Atmospheric Composition, Aerosols (including smoke, dust and fire capabilities)

In-Person Attendees | South Bay

Description | This session will highlight advancements in the UFS for air quality, atmospheric composition, and aerosol modeling, including capabilities for smoke, dust, and fire forecasting. Topics may include model development, data assimilation, emissions modeling, chemical processes, and verification efforts. Submissions focusing on new methodologies, improved predictive capabilities, and real-world applications are also welcome.

Moderated by | Ravan Ahmadov, NOAA/OAR/GSL

Speakers |

Barry Baker - Progress on the development of Configurable Atmospheric Chemistry (CATChem) v2 component within NOAA’s Unified Forecasting System (UFS) (PPTX)

Li Zhang - Fire Aerosol Prediction in NOAA’s Global Aerosol Systems and its Impact on Subseasonal to Seasonal (S2S) Forecasting (PDF) | (PPTX)

Yaping Wang - JEDI based data assimilation for the NOAA Global Chemistry and Aerosol Forecast System (GCAFS) (PPTX)

Barry Baker - Development of NEXUSv2 as a new component in the Unified Forecast System for applications to air composition modeling for AQMv8 and the Configurable ATmospheric Chemistry (CATChem) Component (PPTX)

Jian He - Incorporating gas-phase chemistry into the Unified Forecast System (UFS) for global air quality applications (PDF)

Ravan Ahmadov - Evaluation of the RRFS-Smoke-Dust Model During the 2025 Fire Season in North America (PPTX)

Patrick Campbell - Advancements in NOAA’s Unified Forecast System-Air Quality Model (UFS-AQM) to improve our nation’s air quality forecasting capabilities (PPTX)

Daniel Tong - Developing a global 1km anthropogenic emission dataset to support multiscale atmospheric composition modeling (PPTX)

Haiqin Li - Aerosol dependency of the Community Convective Clouds (C3) scheme in the Unified Forecast System (UFS) Weather Model (PPTX)

Emily Faber - First Implementation of a Reflectance Derived Sediment Supply Map in the UFS and Analysis of Impacts on AOD and Dust Emission. (PDF) | (PPT)

3:00 pm | BREAK

3:30 pm | MPAS Collaborations & Community Engagement

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

Description | This session will foster a dialogue with panelists from NOAA and NCAR to highlight and explore collaborative efforts and strategies advancing MPAS in the community.

Moderated by |

Kate Fossell, NSF NCAR

Jeff Beck, NOAA/GSL

Panelists |

Christiane Jablonowski, University of Michigan

Bill Skamarock, NSF NCAR

Ligia Bernardet, NOAA GSL/DTC

Kathryn Newman, NSF NCAR/DTC

Lou Wicker, NOAA/OAR/NSSL

Presentation slides: MPAS Collaborations & Community Engagement (PPTX)

3:45 pm - 4:00 pm | Tour of the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) NCAR Mesa Lab at 1850 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, CO, 80305

In-Person Attendees | Sign-up sheet at registration table.

Description | A shuttle runs from Center Green to Mesa Lab, leaving at 3:03pm and 3:30pm and is on a first-come first-serve basis. The tour starts at 3:45pm MDT. and is capped at 30 people. Please use the sign-up sheet at the registration table to attend. The last shuttle back to Center Green leaves the Mesa Lab at 6:00pm. Ride share options or carpooling are also available. Visit NSF NCAR | Center for Science Education

4:15 pm | Generation of grid-mesh with multi-refinements for using MPAS to predict severe weather over multiple regions

Description | This presentation introduces a novel procedure utilizing JIGSAW(GEO) to generate high-quality grid meshes that more accurately capture local geographic features, which is critical for accurate severe weather forecasts.

Speaker | Shuxia Zhang, Metropolitan State University

Presentation slides: Generation of Grid-mesh with Multi-refinements for Using MPAS to Predict Severe Weather over Multiple Regions (PDF)

4:45 pm | Adjourn

September 12, 2025

9:00 am | Welcome and Kickoff

In-Person Attendees | Center Bay

MC | Alison Gregory, UCAR CPAESS

Presentation slides: Welcome (PPTX)

9:15 am | Community Engagement/Collaboration

Description | This session will feature discussions about community engagement efforts related to the UFS and highlight opportunities for collaboration across the large platform of users. Presenters are encouraged to emphasize interdisciplinary partnerships, knowledge sharing, and effective communication of science across various audiences.

Speakers |

Joshua Kublnick - Enabling Community Success Through EPIC User Support Services (PPTX)

Chandra Kondragunta - Synergy between Joint Technology Transfer Initiative and Earth Prediction Innovation Center in Advancing NOAA’s Unified Forecast System (PPTX)

Breanna Vanderplow - Advancing Community Ocean and Coastal Modeling by Harnessing the Power of the Cloud (PPTX)

Tracy Hertneky - The Common Community Physics Package: A Unified Framework for Physics Development, Testing, and Operational Transition (PPTX)

Edward Snyder - Rethinking spack-stack support: a containerized approach (PPTX)

10:15 am | BREAK

10:45 am | UFS Coastal Code Development, Applications, and Use Cases

Description | The UFS Coastal project management relies on a Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline through the Jenkins platform, established via an ongoing collaboration with EPIC. The first iteration of this UFS Coastal CI/CD pipeline enables the technical team to automate regression testing of the code base on selected platforms, and greatly improves the efficiency of development given the rapid evolution of UFS code-bases. This session will spotlight developments related to coastal code development.

Speakers |

Saeed Moghimi, NOAA/NOS/OCS

Ufuk Turuncoglu, NCAR

Mansur Ali Jisan, NOAA/NOS/CO-OPS

Presentation slides: The Coastal Modeling Framework: Code development and infrastructure (PDF)

Presentation slides: A Containerized WCOSS2 Environment for Collaborative Development of Operational Ocean Forecast Systems (PPTX)

11:15 am | Commercial Weather Observations

Description | The private sector's role in advancing operational observational networks (conventional and satellite) has significantly increased in the last few years. NOAA and the weather industry engage actively with commercial observation providers through pilot projects and data acquisition programs to support the operational environmental monitoring and modeling; and to advance fundamental research. This session will feature mixed backgrounds: program officers from the public sector (NOAA, NASA, DOD, etc), private providers of observations, and scientists and operational forecasters for sharing their experiences so far and their vision and ideas for the future.

Speakers |

Michael Hurowitz, Weather Stream

Thomas Cavett, Tomorrow.io

Presentation slides: Commercial Weather Observations (PDF) | (PPT)

12:00 pm | LUNCH

1:00 pm | Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)/Citizen Science

Description | The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network is the single largest source of manual daily precipitation reports used by NOAA. With over 28,000 active volunteers in all 50 states, participants of all ages and backgrounds use National Weather Service (NWS) approved rain gauges to measure and report their 24-hour precipitation amounts. This session will highlight the history, growth and successes of the network; and will showcase data access, use applications, and research opportunities.

Speaker | Noah Newman, Colorado State University/CoCoRaHS

Presentation slides: NOAA UIFCW25 workshop: CoCoRaHS: Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow network (PPTX)

1:30 pm | WINGS Fellowship Transition

Description | This session highlights the research done by the first three WINGS fellows and then introduces our new cohort of WINGS fellows. Each speaker will have 5 minutes.

Moderated by | Cindy Bruyère, SPS CPAESS/UCAR

Speakers |

Emily Faber, UMBC/UCAR

Joseph Knisely, UMD/WINGS

Shreyas Dhavale, North Carolina State University/UCAR

Elena Fernandez, University at Albany, SUNY

Lucas Howard, CU Boulder/UCAR CPAESS

Kaitlin Pereira, Colorado School of Mines/UCAR

Presentation slides: Weather Program Office (WPO) Innovation for Next Generation Scientists (WINGS) Dissertation Fellowship (PPTX)

Presentation slides: WINGS Transition Session (PPTX)

Presentation slides: WINGS Fellowship (PPTX)

Presentation slides: WINGS Transition Session (PPTX)

Presentation slides: WINGS Fellowship (PPTX)

Presentation slides: Improved Utilization of Dense Observations in Data Assimilation Systems Using Machine Learning (PPTX)

Presentation slides: Implementing Machine Learning to Resolve Troposphere-Stratosphere Coupling and Teleconnections in S2S Forecasts (PPTX)

2:00 pm | "Pair and Share" Action Items Activity

Description | The goals of this interactive session are to understand how participants engage in community modeling and to gather participants' thoughts as to how best to structure a modeling community that facilitates engagement, ensures equitable contribution, and encourages collaboration. Participants will be divided into pairs for a 90-minute discussion guided by moderators. This session provides opportunities for an interactive discussion among all stakeholder groups interested in community modeling.

Facilitated by |

Alison Gregory, UCAR CPAESS

Tracy Fanara, Inspector Planet, Project ENKI

John Ten Hoeve, NOAA/OAR/WPO

Jennifer Vogt, NOAA/OAR/WPO/EPIC

Presentation slides: “Pair and Share” Action Items and Debrief (PPTX)

3:30 pm | Debrief: Findings, Recommendations and Closing Statements

Description | For our final session, panelists from EPIC, the UFS, the UFS-R2O project, and community members will come together to reflect on our key findings and takeaways from the workshop.

Speakers |

Kevin Garrett, NOAA/NWS/OSTI

Maoyi Huang, NOAA/OAR/WPO/EPIC

Keven Blackman, Raytheon

Rowin Smith, Colgate University, NOAA William M. Lapenta Internship

Shuxia Zhang, Metropolitan State University

Presentation slides: Debrief: Findings, Recommendations and Closing Statements (PPTX)

4:00 pm | Adjourn – Travel Home!

Training

Training 1 | Compile and Run the UFS Global- Workflow using a Container Image (Singularity) on a variety of Platforms

Monday, September 8, 2025

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm MDT

A Singularity Image File (SIF) or Container Image built with ubuntu (22.04), intel compiler (2021.10.0), and spack-stack (1.6.0) will be used to compile the UFS Global-Workflow (GW) and run on Ursa and AWS, but only use bash, rocoto, and slurm on host machines (Ursa or AWS).

The demo will explain what a container image (SIF) is, its benefits to the UFS community, and its practical applications. It will also walk the participants through how to compile the UFS GW with SIF (on Ursa or AWS, with people’s choice). This demo will compile and run a “hello-world” program both within a container and natively on a host machine, run the UFS GW C48 resolution Atmospheric component (C48-ATM) case, and, if time permits, demonstrate the GW Subseasonal-to-Seasonal (S2S) case.

In the tutorial session, we will guide the participants through compiling and running the UFS GW C48-ATM case on either Ursa or AWS and if time permits, we will also cover the C48-S2SW case.

Objective | Demo: Showcase how to use a container to compile and run the UFS GW on Ursa/AWS. Tutorial: Walk the participants through compiling and running the UFS GW using a container on Ursa/AWS.

Limited to 50 attendees: 20 in person and 30 virtual. Hosted via Google Meet for hybrid and virtual attendees.

Training 2 | Artificial Intelligence in Weather Modeling Training

Monday, September 8, 2025

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm MDT

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) in weather modeling workshop will cover a wide range of use cases in the field of AI for numerical modeling. This workshop will include hands-on training on running Graphcast, FourCastNetv2, and PanguWeather. We will also use the European Centre for Medium-Range Forecasts’ (ECMWF) Anemoi Core (https://github.com/ecmwf/anemoi-core) to explore re-training, training, modeling, and graphing the model.

Objective | Guide the participants through practical applications of AI-driven weather modeling by exploring tools such as Graphcast, FourCastNetv2, PanguWeather, and ECMWF’s Anemoi Core for training, evaluation, and visualization.

Limited to 50 attendees. Hosted via Google Meet for hybrid and virtual attendees.

Training 3 | Introduction to Running Idealized Test Cases via the UFS Hierarchical System Development Framework

Thursday, September 11, 2025

9:30 am – 12:00 pm MDT

The UFS Hierarchical System Development (HSD) framework training will provide participants with an overview of the current state of HSD inside of the UFS, an introduction to running and visualizing currently integrated test cases, and general guidance on how community members can contribute to the UFS HSD framework through addition of new test cases and tools. The training will focus on HSD options in the “tests-dev” component of the UFS Weather Model.

Objective | Provide participants with background information and instructions for running the idealized test cases within the UFS HSD framework and contributing to it, through a series of walkthroughs.

Registration deadline for this training is September 5th.

Limited to 50 attendees: 20 in person and 30 virtual. Hosted via Google Meet for hybrid and virtual attendees.

Training 4 | NOAA AI Learning Journeys Tutorial

Thursday, September 11, 2025

9:30 am – 12:00 pm MDT

NOAA Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) collaborates with the NOAA community and partners to publish working examples of AI use cases that are relevant to all NOAA mission areas. These working examples are published as jupyter notebook based Learning Journeys. This training session will provide live demonstration of selected NOAA AI learning journeys that are relevant to the UFS community including use cases like fire weather, tropical cyclones, and rip currents. All participants will be able to run these notebooks in a provided computational environment.

Objective

Learn how to use NCAI learning journeys to experiment with machine learning models for weather related applications in NOAA.
Experiment with implementing machine learning applications with AI-ready open datasets on the cloud.

We have reached capacity for this training, registration is closed.

Limited to 50 attendees: 20 in person and 30 virtual. Hosted via Google Meet for hybrid and virtual attendees.

STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT INFORMATION

UFCW26 provides an excellent opportunity to gain conference experience, learn about NOAA’s forecasting capabilities and processes, and share UFS modeling research. EPIC offers a limited number of travel grants for students and early‑career scientists to attend the workshop. These grants cover transportation to and from the workshop, hotel accommodations, and meals. Applications for student travel grants are now closed.

HOTEL AND VENUE INFO

Venue:
Address: 3501 University Boulevard E, Hyattsville, MD, 20783-7998

Parking:
Parking is free and available in the hotel parking lot.

Hotel Information
EPIC has reserved a block of rooms at the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center and The Hotel at the University of Maryland for attendees who need accommodations. Each guest is responsible for making their own reservation.

Option 1: College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
The per diem rate is available for a few shoulder dates, starting Sunday, July 19 through Saturday, July 25.
To receive the group rate, reservations must be made before the cutoff date: Sunday, June 28, 2026. The guarantee and cancellation policy requires at least 48 hours prior to arrival.
Parking: Parking is free and available in the hotel’s parking lot.

Option 2: The Hotel at the University of Maryland
The per diem rate is available starting Sunday, July 19 through Friday, July 24.
To receive the group rate, reservations must be made before the cutoff date: Thursday, June 18, 2026. The guarantee and cancellation policy requires notice at least 24 hours prior to arrival to avoid a charge of one night’s room and tax.
Parking: The Hotel offers self-parking in its parking garage adjacent to the property for all hotel, conference, overnight, and restaurant patrons.
Parking charges are subject to change without notice. The self-parking fee for overnight guests is $14.00 per day maximum.

PRE-EVENT TRAINING

Training 1 – Introduction to Running NWS Global NWP Models in Development Mode

Monday, July 20th
9am – 12pm EDT

College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in College Park, MD, and Online

Description: Learn how to run the National Weather Service (NWS) Global Workflow (GW), the driver behind Global Forecast System (GFS), Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS), the upcoming Seasonal Forecast System (SFS), and the Global Chemistry and Aerosol Forecast System (GCAFS), all of which are based on the UFS weather model. Participants will run a low-resolution GFS test case while learning how the workflow code and output are structured, and the capabilities of the recent public release. Participants who wish to participate in the hands-on portion should bring a laptop. Limited Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud resources will be available to those without another supported High Performance Computing (HPC) resource. Users with accounts on NOAA’s Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System 2 (WCOSS2), Ursa, or Gaea C6; MSU’s Hercules; or National Science Foundation(NSF)/ National Center for Atmospheric Research’s (NCAR) Derecho will be asked to use one of those machines to save AWS resources for those without.

Objective: Learn how to run Global Workflow cases spanning many different configurations

Instructor(s): Walter Kolczynsk & Wei Huang

This training is limited to 50 participants.

Training 2 -Adding Idealized Test Cases to the UFS Hierarchical System Development Framework

Monday, July 20th
9am – 12pm EDT

College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in College Park, MD, and Online

Description: This training will introduce users to the Unified Forecast System (UFS) Hierarchical System Development (HSD) framework, with an emphasis on integrating a new test case into the HSD framework. Users will receive an overview of the framework (background, structure, workflow), followed by a walkthrough of the steps required to integrate a new test case. The walkthrough will consist of identifying prerequisite input and fix files, determining appropriate model configurations and compatible physics suites, as well as understanding the hierarchical placement and required modifications to the workflow scripts and files. The training will use the recently added Aquaplanet idealized test case as a basis for adding a new case to the UFS HSD framework, complementing the generalized walkthrough for case integration.

Objective: Provide users with background on how to integrate a test case into the UFS HSD framework

Instructor(s): Natalie Perlin, Ratko Vasic, Priya Pillai, Josh Kublnick

This training is limited to 50 participants.

Training 3 – Project EAGLE Training: Machine Learning Weather Forecasting on Microsoft Azure

Monday, July 20th
1pm – 4pm EDT

College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in College Park, MD, and Online

Description: This training introduces participants to NOAA’s Experimental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Global and Limited-area Ensemble forecast system (EAGLE) running in near real time on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The course will cover the workflow and infrastructure supporting machine learning (ML)–based weather forecasting, including preprocessing pipelines, model training procedures, inference execution, and forecast verification techniques.

Participants will also learn how Project EAGLE supports collaborative development and experimentation, including the process for contributing new machine learning models and workflows for operational-style inference and verification. The training is intended for both NOAA and external collaborators interested in developing, evaluating, and deploying ML-based forecasting applications within the EAGLE framework.

Objective: Provide NOAA and non-NOAA participants with hands-on knowledge and practical guidance for using NOAA’s EAGLE forecasting system in a near-real-time cloud environment. Participants will learn the end-to-end workflow for machine learning weather forecasting, including data preprocessing, model training, inference, and verification, while also gaining an understanding of how to contribute new capabilities and models to Project EAGLE.

Instructor(s): Alex Burrows & Mariah Pope

This training is limited to 100 in-person participants and 50 virtual participants.

NEW USER/STUDENT TRACK TRAINING

CADRE-JEDI-Edu Tutorial: Introducing Data Assimilation Methods in JEDI Using a Simple Two-Layer QG Model

Wednesday, July 22nd
1:45pm – 4:15pm EDT

College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in College Park, MD

This training is scheduled during the new user/student track on Wednesday of the workshop and is gauged towards those new to model code and development.

This tutorial will use the CADRE-JEDI-Edu python-based workflow to introduce the basic data assimilation algorithms in JEDI in the context of a simple two-layer quasi-geostrophic model that you can run from your own laptop. The tutorial will consist of a series of Observation System Simulation Experiments with single-observation and multi-observation settings, to showcase LETKF, 3DVar, 4DVar, 3DEnVar, hybrid 3DEnVar, 4DEnVar, and local particle filter. In addition to introducing technical aspects of the use of these methods in JEDI, the tutorial will compare their differences and discuss the sensitivity of results to select parameters.

Information will be provided to registered attendees about how to install Docker and view the Python notebooks, which should be done before the tutorial.

Instructor(s): Aaron Johnson, Nick Gasperoni, Jon Poterjoy

ABSTRACT DETAILS

This session will showcase developments in the UFS across multiple applications including:

Short Range Weather (SRW) & Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS)
Hurricane Applications (HAFS)
Coastal
Air Quality
Land
Global workflow (includes Subseasonal to Seasonal (S2S), Seasonal Forecast System (SFS), and Atmospheric Rivers (AR))

Topics may also include model coupling, Data Assimilation (DA), physics improvements, and applications for forecasting and ecosystem prediction. Contributions on operational implementation and research advancements are also welcome.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP)

This session invites developers and scientists working on topics including but not limited to: The development and operationalization of partial/full data-driven models for short, medium, and long range weather forecasting, AI-based parameterization, novel techniques for accuracy improvement using AI in DA and/or post-processing, software/hardware engineering aspects related to model development, data acquisition, scalability on training and inference, etc.

Machine Learning

This session explores the integration of Machine Learning (ML) into NWP to enhance forecast accuracy and computational efficiency. We invite abstracts focusing on data-driven emulators, hybrid modeling, and ML-based post-processing. Key areas of interest include deep learning for high-resolution nowcasting, bias correction of global ensembles, and the development of energy-efficient models capable of processing large volumes of data.

MPAS Integration

This session highlights advancements in the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) dynamical core and its integration into UFS. Topics covered in this session include model development, data assimilation, physics enhancements, coupling, performance tuning/optimization, code management, workflow, and verification efforts that improve high-impact, short-range weather forecasts. Contributions on system performance, operational readiness, and emerging research are also encouraged.

Cross Cutting NWP Topics

This session features cross-cutting components of the UFS, and presentations highlight cutting-edge research on Physics, Dynamics, System Architecture and Infrastructure, and Verification & Validation which transform multiple applications.

High-Performance Computing (HPC)/cloud

High-Performance Computing (HPC) enables researchers, including those from academia and industry, to run complex simulations without the constraints of local hardware. This session explores the critical evolution of HPC and Cloud infrastructure as the backbone of NOAA’s next generation operational and research applications. This session bridges the gap between atmospheric science and system architecture. Abstracts are encouraged, topics relating to transition to cloud computing, the NOAA RDHPCS program, and success stories.

Data Assimilation

DA is a critical component of Earth System Models (ESMs). In this session, presentations highlight cutting-edge research on DA, DA applications (such as Land-DA), innovative observing techniques, and coupled DA processes. Challenges and opportunities in data assimilation are also welcome.

Research to Operations to Research (R2O2R)

This session focuses on discussions regarding the end-to-end pipeline of the UFS, emphasizing the bidirectional exchange between the research community and operational centers. Presentations highlight successful transitions of innovations into NOAA’s production suite, the use of “Operations to Research (O2R)” feedback loops to identify systematic model errors, and the evolving infrastructure—such as UFS code releases and the UFS Usability Assessment—that supports community contributions. We welcome abstracts on transition metrics, hurdles in the R2O process, and strategies for accelerating the delivery of cutting-edge science to forecasters.

Community Engagement

This session highlights community engagement efforts related to the UFS and showcases opportunities for collaboration across the broader user community, WINGS fellows, and students or new users. Presenters are encouraged to emphasize interdisciplinary partnerships, knowledge sharing, and effective communication of science across various audiences.

Poster session

Share your research, use case, or innovation with other community members during our poster session and networking mixer! Submission of an abstract is required to participate in the poster session.

Hotel Information

EPIC has reserved a block of rooms at the Residence Inn Boulder and Hampton Inn & Suites Boulder-North for attendees who need hotel accommodations. Each guest must make their own reservation.

Option 1: Residence Inn Boulder

The per diem rate is available for a few shoulder dates, starting Saturday, September 6th through Saturday, September 13th.

To receive the group rate, reservations for the Residence Inn Boulder must be made before the cutoff date: August 10, 2025. Guarantee and cancellation policy is 48 hours prior to arrival.

Reserve Room at Residence Inn Boulder

Option 2: Hampton Inn & Suites Boulder-North

The per diem rate is available starting Sunday, September 7th through Saturday, September 13th. After clicking the button below, attendees will be taken to a landing page where the UIFCW25 rate is already applied. Dates can be changed at the top of the page – make sure to click “update” or your selected room type will default back to the original set of dates. Guests can also call and ask for the “UIFCW” or “Unifying Innovations” rate. It’s best to contact the front desk directly if someone’s preferred method of booking is via phone call – 303.530.3300 extension 0.

To receive the group rate, reservations for the Hampton Inn & Suites Boulder-North must be made before the cutoff date: August 24, 2025. There is free cancellation before 11:59 PM local hotel time on September 6, 2025.

Reserve Room at Hampton Inn & Suites Boulder-North

Lunch Payment Information

Lunch is free for all non-federal attendees, which includes federal contractors and CI employees.

All federal employees attending in person and partaking in the catered lunches Tuesday-Friday are required to pay for their meals. Federal employees can choose which days to partake in the catered lunches. It is preferred that federal employees pay prior to the event (by Friday, September 5, 2025, at COB MDT). However, federal employees can choose to pay throughout the event as well. Non-federal employees will be provided lunch as part of their registration.

Lunch Payment Information

Tuesday lunch: Taco Bar $25/person
Wednesday lunch: Build Your Own Salad & Grain Bowls $25/person
Thursday lunch: Asian Rice Bar $25/person
Friday lunch: Grab and Go Deli Lunch $20/person

*All four lunches include vegan and gluten-free options. Click the lunch menu for more details.

How to Pay:
If you are interested in purchasing catered lunches (provided by UCAR CG Catering), please click the “Purchase Lunch” button below, and select “UIFCW25” from the “Select an item or event to pay” drop-down menu. Click on “Process Payment.” This should bring you to a new page where you enter the amount to pay, credit card information, and your contact information. Once the information is filled out, click “Next” to confirm your payment.

The total amount (when paying for all 4 lunches) is: $95.

Abstract Submissions are due by Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Schedule subject to updates. Additional information will be added as plans for each session evolve.

* All times are in Mountain Daylight Time (MDT).

Important Dates for UIFCW26

March

Registration Opens
Call for Abstracts / Abstract Submission Opens

April

30th: Abstract Submission Closes
.

May

1st: Student Travel Grant Application deadline
19th: Hotel Room Block at College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center Closes

June

Workshop Agenda Announced
18th: Hotel Room Block at The Hotel at the University of Maryland Closes

July

6th: In-person Registration Closes
20th: Pre-Event Trainings
21st – 24th: UIFCW26
24th: Lunch Meal Payment Closes