In which year did American scientists use multiple computers to conduct numerical weather forecasts?

In fact, it is "calculated" by a computer. Weather forecasters first use computers to solve a set of equations describing weather evolution and "calculate" the future weather; then they analyze weather maps, meteorological satellite data, etc., and combine accumulated experience to make specific weather forecasts for the next three to five days. .

It is very laborious to solve the combination of mathematical equations required for numerical weather prediction. British mathematician Richardson wrote the book "Weather Forecasting Using Numerical Methods" to describe the calculation process. In order to obtain accurate data, he organized a large number of manpower to conduct the first numerical prediction attempt from 1916 to 1918. This time the forecast calculation took many people 12 months to complete using a hand-cranked computer - to get the forecast for the next 24 hours, if a person calculated it day and night, he would need to calculate 64,000 days, which is 175 years. In other words, if you want to keep up with the ever-changing weather, you need a computing factory with 64,000 people working together to calculate a 24-hour weather forecast.

In the 20th year after Richardson carried out this experiment, the world's first electronic computer came out. In 1950, American scientists successfully made a 36-hour forecast of 500 hPa weather conditions for the first time. Since then, some countries have successively introduced this advanced weather forecasting method, numerical forecasting, into actual operations.

After Americans Charney and von Neumann first used electronic computers to produce numerical weather forecasts based on atmospheric dynamics in 1950, numerical weather forecasts gradually developed into the main method of weather forecasting.

In order to improve the level of numerical weather prediction, our country began to contact the American Cray Company as early as 1985, hoping to introduce this supercomputer. Due to the strict control over this kind of high-precision technology abroad, we went through 48 negotiations with Cray Company in the past 10 years, and finally invited this "big guy" back to China in 1994. When this computer was purchased back then, the United States sent two experts to track it 24 hours a day to prevent my country from using it for military purposes.

Since the 1960s, with the improvement of computer computing speed, the effective forecast timeliness of numerical weather forecasting has increased by one day every 10 years. In this process, numerical weather forecasting has exceeded the forecasting ability of forecasters. , and gradually became the main basis for weather forecasts in various periods at the end of the 20th century.