Definition
A high-resolution numerical weather prediction model run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that covers the continental United States with a 3-kilometer grid and produces an updated forecast every hour, providing short-range forecasts of wind, temperature, precipitation, thunderstorms, turbulence, and other weather conditions used in aviation planning.
Plain English
A computer weather forecast that covers the U.S. in fine detail and gets refreshed every hour, giving pilots a current picture of what the weather is doing and what it will do over the next several hours.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation weather websites, weather briefings, and planning tools when checking short-range forecast guidance before or during a flight day.
Derivation
The name describes what the model does. 'High Resolution' refers to the fine 3-kilometer grid, which captures small-scale weather features that coarser models miss. 'Rapid Refresh' means the forecast is recalculated every hour using the latest observations, rather than only a few times per day.
Why Pilots Care
Gives pilots a reliable short-term picture of developing thunderstorms and turbulence so they can adjust routes and departure times for safety.
Grounding Statement
Before a local flight, a pilot might check this model to see whether scattered showers are expected to grow or fade over the next few hours.
Intuition Check
High resolution does not mean perfectly accurate. Rapid refresh does not mean live weather; it is still a forecast, just one that is updated often.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot checked the High Resolution Rapid Refresh forecast before departure to see how the line of storms would move over the next three hours.
Example Sentence 2
Dispatch used the latest High Resolution Rapid Refresh run to advise the crew of a line of storms moving across the destination area.