Operations

The domain of COSMO-7 has 393 x 338 grid points with a grid-spacing of 6.6 km (0.06°). It covers the entire western and central Europe (from Ireland, Denmark, Poland in the North to Portugal and Italy in the South). The corners of the domain are the following: NW: (54.47 N, 18.40 W), NE: (56.84 N, 23.02 E), SW: (35.16 N, 9.80 W), and SE: (36.81 N, 18.87 E). In the vertical direction the model has 60 levels. The highest point of the topography reaches 3122 m above sea level. For each of these 7'970'040 grid points the weather evolution is calculated in steps of 60 seconds.

The domain of COSMO-2 has 520 x 350 grid points with a grid-spacing of 2.2 km (0.02°). It covers the Alpine arc, with Switzerland in the center. The corners of the domain are the following: NW: (49.66 N, 1.19 E), NE: (49.76 N, 17.25 E), SW: (42.72 N, 2.25 E), and SE: (42.81 N, 16.37 E). In the vertical direction the model has the same 60 levels as COSMO-7; the highest point of the topography reaches 3950 m a.s.l. For each of these totally 10'920'000 grid points the weather evolution is calculated in steps of 20 seconds.

The ensemble prediction system COSMO-LEPS is based on the COSMO model. It is run with a horizontal grid spacing of 7 km and 511 x 415 grid points. The calculations take place at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). COSMO-LEPS is run twice daily and consists of 16 individual forecasts (members) and covers the mid and southern parts of Europe. Boundary and initial fields are taken from the global ensemble prediction system of ECMWF. The higher resolution of COSMO-LEPS results in better forecasts for the Alpine region, especially for extreme events like storms or intense precipitation. COSMO-LEPS ensemble forecasts are used to derive probabilistic products.