Comparison of numerical characteristics in the Regional Model for Prediction across Scales (MPAS) and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) models using low-level wind analysis during heavy snowfall episodes over complex terrain

We compared rMPAS simulations with those of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model and observational data for three significant snowfall events, emphasizing on their performances in capturing precipitation patterns and synoptic environments.

Both the rMPAS and WRF Models effectively replicated the complex meteorological conditions of heavy snowfall events, although they overestimated precipitation. We included sensitivity experiments to compare the dynamical cores in rMPAS and WRF, which use the same physics packages. Kinetic energy spectral analysis showed remarkable similarities between rMPAS and WRF despite differences in their numerical approaches, especially at smaller spatial scales.