P21  Improving Seasonal-Interannual Climate Prediction by the   Nested CWRF-ECHAM System

Chen, Ligang, Xin-Zhong Liang, University of Maryland, David DeWitt, Columbia University

This study investigates the downscaling enhancement from the global operational European Centre Hamburg Model (ECHAM) to the newly developed regional Climate extension of Weather Research and Forecasting (CWRF) model during 1980-2008 over the United States. Downscaling forecasts of the precipitation, hydrology and surface temperature will be analyzed to assess the predictive skill improvement. The assessment will include the equitable threat scores, spatial patterns, probability distributions, and extreme events for variables of the terrestrial hydrology. We will demonstrate the significant advantage of the CWRF downscaling for regional climate prediction.