Abstract
The next- generation numerical weather prediction model, WRF has been developed in the collaboration of NCAR, NCEP, NOAA/FSL, for instance. However, the WRF model still uses a conventional approach for the urban surface parameterization. We show in this paper a research and development efforts with regards to developing a land surface model coupled with urban canopy model for the WRF model. The urban canopy model is the single-layer model developed by Kusaka et al.(2001) and modified by Kusaka and Kimura (2004). Both of the modified and standard WRF were applied to simulate the local weather to investigate impact of the urban canopy model. The result shows that the urban canopy model releases sensible heat from the urban surface after sunset, which is one of the essential features of urban climate. This indicates that the urban canopy model could help to increase accuracy of weather forecasts and the canopy structure plays a significant role in nocturnal heat island formation.
