Developmental Testbed Center (DTC)

Flying over New York City, the NSF NCAR C-130 aircraft traversed the skies of the tri-state area to collect data on urban air quality for the Greater New York Oxidant, Trace Gas, Halogen, and Aerosol Airborne Mission (GOTHAAM). 🧵

🚀 Announcing FastEddy® 4.0! The latest release of this groundbreaking, open source GPU-based model. Extensions include explicit incorporation of models for buildings, wind turbine effects & more. Check it out! ral.ucar.edu/news/just-re...

Ten people standing in a circle talking and holding packets of paper on an overcast day. They are standing in a lush green field with tall pine trees in the distance and the Flatiron mountains in the background.

Visit our website to register for upcoming sessions and sign up to be notified as new workshops are added. We can't wait to share our toolbox for inspiring student investigation!
#TeacherPD #K12 #NGSS #ScienceEducation

On Wed., Nov. 12 from 7-8:30 PM MT, NSF NCAR scientists Kristen Krumhardt and Alice DuVivier will discuss how Earth System Models are used to investigate polar ecosystem change for the next Explorer Series lecture. Join us virtually or in-person at the Mesa Lab!

www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id...

A screenshot from the beginning of the game saying "station 1: live plants. You are currently solid nitrogen inside a living plant." with a white flower growing in the center of the screen

A screenshot from the end of the game showing a full passport of stamps collected from locations and stations throughout the game

Ready for an adventure, perfect for classrooms or home learning? 🎲 In our Nitrogen Cycle Game, you will take on the role of nitrogen and explore how it moves through Earth's systems. Roll the dice to discover where your journey takes you!
scied.ucar.edu/interactive/...

NCAR Director Everette Joseph & projects lead Yaga Richter discuss breaking down siloes in the scientific community to improve the subseasonal-to-seasonal forecasting. ⬇️

Thanks @eos.org !

Established over 60 years ago, the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research has a long and fascinating history of science and innovation. We're dusting off the history books to share snippets from NCAR’s Timeline, an interactive online exhibit featuring an easy-to-use timeline of events.

Sunset on Jersey Shore

🌎 Explore, Learn, Connect - RAL Seminar Series 🌎
🌊 Climate Adaptation Case Study: Rising Seas Along the Jersey Shore
🌊 Susan Crawford, Harvard Law School & the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
🌊 TUES, Oct 21 | 1-2 PM (MT) | Free Hybrid Event
Show me more! ral.ucar.edu/events/2025/...

ENCORE!📣 NSF NCAR scientist Kelly Barsanti will be giving an encore presentation of her Explorer Series lecture on air quality. Join us on Thurs., Oct. 9 at the Longmont Museum from 7-9PM; hope to see you there!

https://longmontcolorado.gov/event/ncar-explorer-series-a-history-of-urban-air-quality/

🎉Congrats to Scott Landolt, honored with the AMS Editor’s Award for Journal of Applied Meteorology & Climatology👏For exceptional dedication to providing thoughtful, high-quality reviews. 🥳Join us in celebrating Scott & all of this year's AMS Honorees! www.ametsoc.org/ams/about-am...

🔥 Proud to support this vital work! Our tools help predict wildfire behavior so firefighters & communities can respond faster & smarter - protecting lives & property. 🚒🌤 Learn more about the Benefits and Impacts of our Wildfire Weather Research: ral.ucar.edu/impacts/wild...

Congrats to our 6 researchers that were awarded fellowships & other honors by the American Geophysical Union & American Meteorological Society! The awardees have shared high quality contributions to the field.
https://news.ucar.edu/133041/nsf-ncar-researchers-win-prestigious-ams-agu-honors

Hi res image of Typhoon Ragasa using the experimental model.

NSF NCAR scientists are working on an experimental hurricane forecast using advanced computing w/ Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) run on the Derecho supercomputer. So far, this new system predicted Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest weather system this year, many days ahead in high definition.

Graphic includes text "Heroes Assemble" in an exclamation bubble, the text "Super Science Saturday" with an orange background. One photo on the top includes scientists at an activity table talking to children, and the bottom photo shows a scientist helping a group of children to deploy a weather balloon.

The 2025 Super Science Saturday is going to be… well, SUPER! 🦸‍♂️ Hosted by UCAR SciEd, our heroic staff are assembling on Sat, Nov. 1 from 10AM-4PM for a super-powered day of science and fun for the whole family at the Mesa Lab! https://scied.ucar.edu/visit/ncar/super-science-saturday

Waymo’s driverless cars will face big test in Denver: winter weather - Denver Gazette There’s a noticeable trend among the cities Waymo looks to for expansion: snowier weather. This week, Waymo announced it would begin an exploratory phase in Denver and Seattle. The company also made p...

🌨️🚗 As Waymo begins testing driverless cars in Denver, one big question stands out: Can autonomous vehicles handle snow, ice, hail, & Colorado’s unpredictable weather? Curtis Walker, RAL Scientist specializing in transportation meteorology, shared his thoughts: www.denvergazette.com/2025/09/05/w...

🤩 👏 Stronger research means stronger communities. At NSF NCAR RAL, our work in high-resolution, short-term forecasting helps users across sectors - aviation, transportation, military, water, emergency, & more - make safer, faster decisions during severe weather. More:
ral.ucar.edu/technologies...

A scientist holding a weather balloon outside that a group of kids are reaching out to touch.

Suit up, scientists in training! 🥼 Super Science Saturday is just around the corner on November 1st from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm at the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab in Boulder, CO. Heroes unite to harness the superpowers of science!

With Rice University, a new project called the SCI-SWIM will help our Community Earth System Model trace where water comes from by focusing on stable water isotopes that give clues to the origins of water, from ice sheets to the ocean and everything in between.
news.ucar.edu/133039/new-m...

The Advanced Study Program’s Graduate Visitor Program Fellowship is accepting applications! This fellowship allows graduate students to work on their thesis, dissertation, or final project equivalent, with guidance from NSF NCAR scientists and engineers.

#ICYMI Poor water quality can drastically affect air quality according to a collaborative study featuring NSF NCAR, @scrippsocean.bsky.social , @ucriverside.bsky.social & @sandiegostate.bsky.social. NSF NCAR's Kelly Barsanti assisted with gas analysis.

news.ucar.edu/133038/study...

Join Us Today! 1-2 PM (MT) 🌲 Dr. Lijie Zhang, Washington State University presents: 🌲 Examining the Influence of Heterogeneous Forest Canopy on Shallow Convection at the Third ARM Mobile Site
🌎 Explore, Learn, Connect - RAL Seminar Series 🌎
Watch Live: ral.ucar.edu/live

A new study finds eastern Colorado is drying faster than the Western Slope due to climate change The split could leave the Front Range even more dependent on piping water across the continental divide.

💧🏔️New study finds eastern Colorado is drying faster than the Western Slope “The growing population & drying in the east is going to mean cities like Denver, Boulder & Longmont are going to become even more dependent on water we take from the west,” Alex Stebbins NSF NCAR.
www.cpr.org/2025/09/15/e...

💡⚡Here’s to a smarter, stronger grid! At NSF NCAR RAL, we're also helping to secure the nation’s energy with advanced modeling, forecasting, and decision-support tools - keeping energy reliable for communities across the country. Learn more! ral.ucar.edu/renewable-en...

A suite of instruments overlook a mountainous area.

A suite of instruments overlook a shrubby area in the morning sunrise.

🔭The development team has completed the Final Design Review for COSMO’s Large Coronagraph, a solar telescope helping scientists to study the magnetic processes before a geomagnetic storm.
📍The team has narrowed down the sites for this new observatory & deployed instruments to continue assess them.

Examining the Influence of Heterogeneous Forest Canopy on Shallow Convection at the Third ARM Mobile Site, Dr. Lijie Zhang, Washington State University

🌎 Explore, Learn, Connect - RAL Seminar Series 🌎
🌲 Examining the Influence of Heterogeneous Forest Canopy on Shallow Convection at the Third ARM Mobile Site
🌲 Dr. Lijie Zhang, Washington State University
🌲 WED, Sept 17 | 1-2 PM (MT) | Free hybrid event
More! ral.ucar.edu/events/2025/...

⭐We're honored to be a part of this mission & support our military with cutting-edge weather prediction tools that protect soldiers, strengthen security, & safeguard communities. Our tools are in operational use at the DoD supporting mission-critical decisions.
Learn more: ral.ucar.edu/urban-weather

As extreme weather events, poor air quality & solar storms increasingly threaten our nation, NSF NCAR’s research is more important now than ever. In our new Strategic Plan, we are charting a path forward to ensure our research advances a more resilient and safe future.

ncar.ucar.edu/who-we-are/s...

Six students and three teachers around a table doing an experiment with empty plastic bottles and buckets of water

Interested in one of our award-winning field trips but can't come in person?
Good news! We offer virtual options as well, all you need to participate is a computer, webcam, and internet access. We bring the science to you!

👏 Advancing hurricane resilience requires both leading-edge research & clear communication. 🤲 Together our organization is helping communities prepare, respond, & recover more effectively. Learn more about how we are helping drive this vital mission forward: ral.ucar.edu/tropical-cyc...

🌊We're proud to contribute to this vital effort of protecting our coastlines. 🌐The GIS Program at NSF NCAR RAL is developing innovative geovisualizations to help coastal communities understand and prepare for hurricane storm surge risks. Learn more here: gis.ucar.edu/what-we-do/g...