The University of Wrenhaven has switched on a new supercomputer that will run detailed local weather forecasts for the city, the coast and the Asher Valley. The machine, housed in a cooled hall at the university's science park in Eastmoor, can calculate weather conditions on a grid of squares just 500 metres across, far finer than the regional models forecasters rely on today.
Professor Graham Okonkwo, who leads the university's atmospheric science group, said the finer detail would make a difference in a place where the sea, hills and river valley all shape the weather. "A heavy shower can soak Millbrook while Harbourside stays dry," he said. "Coarser models simply cannot see features that small."
The system cost €14m, shared between the university, the regional government and a consortium of local organisations including the port, the harbour authority and the water company. Each of them will receive tailored forecasts, such as wind speeds at the container cranes or rainfall over the reservoirs above Tarnmere.
Faster warnings
The main aim is better warnings of sudden, local events. Flash flooding in the steep streets around Old Quay and strong gusts on the Saltings ferry route have caught people out in recent years. The new model will update every hour, and the city's emergency planners will have direct access to its output.
We are not trying to replace the national forecast. We are trying to add the local detail people actually experience when they step outside.
The heat produced by the machine will be piped into the science park's buildings to warm offices and laboratories, a design inspired by the data centre heat scheme already running in Eastmoor. Outside forecasting hours, spare computing time will be shared with researchers working on ocean currents, coastal erosion and air quality.