Use of the numerical simulations with weather forecast model WRF as a proxy to atmospheric soundings

The present study aims to check the ability of numerical weather forecast models to represent the vertical structure in the atmosphere and thus to serve as an approximation of the in-situ atmosphere sounding. The advantage of using such proxy is the better resolution in both time and space and therefore the lack of measurement would be no longer a problem. The numerical model, used here is the model system Weather Research and Forecasting WRF. The model domain covers the whole territory of Bulgaria and by means of double nesting approach resolves the area with spatial resolution of 1.8 km. Several numerical experiments are performed to configure and tune the model parameters in order to obtain adequate model results. The data from atmosphere sounding in Sofia meteorological station are compared with the data coming from the Doppler channel of meteorological radar Gematronik c360, located in Sofia airport. The simulated vertical profiles of the temperature, humidity and wind are validated using available measurements from atmosphere sounding. Conclusions about the usability of numerical simulations as a proxy of atmosphere sounding are derived. A real application of this method, a case when the model gave useful information, is demonstrated.