WASHINGTON—NOAA has selected Tomorrow.io to provide contracting support for the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC), the backbone of the agency’s operational weather forecast modeling suite.
This contract is part of the federal agency’s effort to speed up the development of its next-generation Earth modeling system, the Unified Forecast System (UFS), through open science.
The effort is important for broadcasters who rely on NOAA data in their weather segments.
“With EPIC, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to cement U.S. leadership in weather prediction by leveraging the full power of the public, private, and academic sectors,” NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs said. “We will accelerate the transition of scientific research into operations through a unified approach to model development in a cloud-based environment, which will advance our mission of protecting life and property.”
Established in 2019, the EPIC program provides community modeling infrastructure and engagement opportunities to foster collaboration with the larger weather research enterprise, including academia, public agencies, and private industry. The program aims to transition research innovations into operational forecast models used by NOAA’s National Weather Service more efficiently.
While the EPIC program oversees management and planning-related tasks, scientific innovation and other relevant projects, Tomorrow.io will be responsible for software infrastructure and engineering as well as user support services. The company will share responsibility for engaging the UFS community and collaborating on high-performance computing initiatives.
The goal of the UFS is to modernize and streamline NOAA’s operational modeling suite while accelerating the transition of scientific research into operations through a unified, community-driven Earth modeling system. By providing a single, flexible framework that integrates various components—such as the atmosphere, ocean and land—the UFS replaces numerous standalone operational models to better predict weather and climate across all timescales.
“We are proud to lead the team supporting EPIC and NOAA, the trusted global authority in weather science, in strengthening the nation’s forecasting models and infrastructure," said Thomas Cavett, vice president, U.S. federal business, for Tomorrow.io. “Our expertise in AI modeling and satellite observations reflects our commitment to NOAA’s mission of protecting lives and property. We look forward to helping realize NOAA’s vision and supporting continued progress in forecasting and early warning for partner nations around the world.”
