Atmospheric River Workshop

The 2025 Atmospheric River (AR) Workshop brought together researchers, forecasters, and model developers from the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC), Global Systems Laboratory (GSL), Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL), Office of Modeling and Development (OMD), Weather Prediction Center (WPC), Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) and partner organizations to discuss recent advances in atmospheric river (AR) prediction, modeling, data assimilation (DA), machine learning (ML), verification, and operational applications.

The workshop highlighted progress across the UFS-AR project and related forecasting systems, including developments in AR modeling, DA frameworks, model verification and validation, AI/ML-enabled prediction techniques, and hydrologic applications supporting water-resource management and reservoir operations. Participants also shared research on forecasting extreme precipitation events, improving the use of observational data, and advancing next-generation modeling systems and workflows.

A major focus of the workshop was the transition of research capabilities into operational forecasting environments, including discussions on emerging modeling frameworks, community-accessible workflows, containerized applications, and future directions for AR prediction. Sessions explored ML applications for precipitation forecasting, DA, and hydrologic prediction, as well as the role of AR forecasts in decision support for water management and hazard preparedness.

The workshop concluded with breakout discussions focused on DA, modeling system evolution, and operational implementation strategies, providing participants with an opportunity to identify future research priorities and strengthen collaboration across the AR research and operations community.