Weather and forecasting challenges in the Pacific Region of the National Weather Service

The large area of responsibility covered by the Pacific Region of the National Weather Service provides a unique set of challenges to operational forecasters. Extratropical, subtropical, and tropical meteorological phenomena on a wide range of temporal and spatial scales must be considered on a daily basis. Compounding the problems of forecasting diverse weather for such a large area of responsibility is the fact that the Pacific Ocean is a data-sparse region. Recent improvements in data collection platforms and the continued progress made by researchers have helped increase the understanding of weather throughout the region, ultimately resulting in improved forecast services. This article provides an overview of some of the weather phenomena encountered in the Pacific Region and helps set the stage for the accompanying articles that focus on specific weather forecasting problems. Some discussion is provided on the impact of the National Weather Service's modernization program on operational forecasting in the region.