ManUniCast: A Real-Time Weather and Air-Quality Forecasting Portal and App for Teaching

• Published in: Weather
• Main Authors: Schultz, David, Anderson, Stuart, G. Fairman Jr., Jonathan, Lowe, Douglas, Mcfiggans, Gordon, Lee, Elsa, Seo-Zindy, Ryo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: ResearchInstitutes_Networks_Beacons/global_development_institute; name=Global Development Institute; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/86ff8888-47bc-4c2d-be96-1ecf6a4e5020; https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.2468; https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/files/21641025/PRE-PEER-REVIEW.PDF

ManUniCast is a real-time weather and air-quality forecasting portal developed for education and outreach at the University of Manchester. The web portal manunicast.com displays model output from a WRF simulation with 20-km horizontal grid spacing over the North Atlantic and Europe, including a 4-km nest over the UK and Ireland. The portal also displays output from a WRF-Chem simulation at 12-km grid spacing over the UK. The portal displays over 60 different meteorological, chemical and composition quantities. Both the portal and an accompanying mobile app are free. Educational opportunities for incorporating ManUniCast into existing courses are discussed.