LUBBOCK, TX (September 1, 2016) – Texas Tech University and Group NIRE have partnered to create an energy weather forecasting application called Herold.

Herold uses state-of-the-art, high resolution spacing to provide customers in both the energy and agriculture industry with extremely detailed forecasts. What sets Herold apart is the spacing in which its forecasts are made. At this time, the industry uses 12 km spacing. Herold uses a smaller, 4 km spacing, allowing for more accurate forecasts.

Utilities and farmers currently rely on forecasts taken from the industry-standard, larger spacing model. This can be problematic because anticipated precipitation accumulated over a 24-hour period could be 1 inch, with the range of possibilities for the area varying anywhere from 0.25 to 2.0 inches. Herold can be used as the primary forecasting system to more accurately predict the exact rainfall total for a specific area, allowing decision makers to plan accordingly.

Additionally, Herold provides straightforward probabilities of weather exceeding certain thresholds, such as high wind speeds, freezing temperatures or lightning predication. This is another feature other systems typically lack. The 4-km grid spacing used in the Herold system also gives information on small-scale features like thunderstorms, which lead to a number of high-impact forecast features such as flooding and tornadoes.

The combination of high resolution, probabilistic forecasts, ensemble forecasting and data assimilation techniques promises to make TTU and Group NIRE’s new forecasting system stand out among its competitors.

For more information, please visit www.askherold.com.