Evaluating the Predictability of Selected Weather Extremes with Aurora, an AI Weather Forecast Model

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Huang, Qin, Liu, Moyan, Kwon, Yeongbin, Lall, Upmanu
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Huang, Qin
Liu, Moyan
Kwon, Yeongbin
Lall, Upmanu
author_facet Huang, Qin
Liu, Moyan
Kwon, Yeongbin
Lall, Upmanu
contents AI weather foundation models now achieve forecast skill comparable to numerical weather prediction at far lower computational cost, yet their predictability for high-impact extremes across dynamical regimes remains uncertain. We evaluate Aurora using an event-based framework spanning tropical cyclones, freezes, heatwaves, atmospheric rivers, and extreme precipitation at lead times from 1 to 21 days. Aurora demonstrates strong short-range (1-7 day) skill across event types, including competitive tropical cyclone track accuracy and high spatial agreement for temperature and moisture extremes. However, a consistent subseasonal failure mode emerges: while large-scale circulation patterns remain moderately skillful at 14-21 day leads, threshold-based extreme intensity collapses as fields regress toward climatology. This divergence indicates that Aurora retains synoptic-scale dynamical structure but loses surface-impact amplitude beyond 7-10 days. The practical predictability horizon for deterministic AI extreme-event forecasting therefore remains constrained by intrinsic atmospheric dynamics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_06516
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evaluating the Predictability of Selected Weather Extremes with Aurora, an AI Weather Forecast Model
Huang, Qin
Liu, Moyan
Kwon, Yeongbin
Lall, Upmanu
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
AI weather foundation models now achieve forecast skill comparable to numerical weather prediction at far lower computational cost, yet their predictability for high-impact extremes across dynamical regimes remains uncertain. We evaluate Aurora using an event-based framework spanning tropical cyclones, freezes, heatwaves, atmospheric rivers, and extreme precipitation at lead times from 1 to 21 days. Aurora demonstrates strong short-range (1-7 day) skill across event types, including competitive tropical cyclone track accuracy and high spatial agreement for temperature and moisture extremes. However, a consistent subseasonal failure mode emerges: while large-scale circulation patterns remain moderately skillful at 14-21 day leads, threshold-based extreme intensity collapses as fields regress toward climatology. This divergence indicates that Aurora retains synoptic-scale dynamical structure but loses surface-impact amplitude beyond 7-10 days. The practical predictability horizon for deterministic AI extreme-event forecasting therefore remains constrained by intrinsic atmospheric dynamics.
title Evaluating the Predictability of Selected Weather Extremes with Aurora, an AI Weather Forecast Model
topic Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.06516