The division emphasizes the assimilation of diverse meteorological observations for analyzing current atmospheric conditions and the subsequent generation of short-range numerical forecasts. Produced in real time at frequent intervals on national and local scales, these analyses and forecasts are valuable to commercial aviation, local forecasters, and emergency preparedness agencies. They also have supported or will support several large meteorological field experiments.
Research is conducted on the use of new data sources.
A strong effort is made to improve representation of processes near the surface and in clouds, which exert a strong control on mesoscale forecasts. The model is updated with new observations at least hourly. LAPS plays a major role in FSL's Aviation Program, particularly in diagnosing and predicting aviation terminal weather. LAPS Observation Simulation System - A system designed to assess the impact of new observation technology or siting of existing observational systems. The Meteorological Applications Branch conducts research to increase the understanding of synoptic-scale and mesoscale weather systems.