The Lake Michigan and Huron Operational Forecast System (LMHOFS) was jointly developed by NOAA/National Ocean Service's (NOS) Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) and Office of Coast Survey (OCS), the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), the NOAA/National Weather Service's (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) National Central Operations (NCO), and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.
LMHOFS uses the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) to provide users with nowcast (analyses of near present) and forecast guidance of water levels, currents, and water temperature out to 120 hours, four times per day. By combining Lake Michigan and Lake Huron into one model grid and invoking advanced model schemes and algorithms, LMHOFS is expected to generate a more accurate model output than the former LMOFS and LHOFS, which have separate model domains based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM).
The NWS and NOS work together to run LMHOFS operationally on NOAA's High Performance Computing System (HPCS). By running on NOAA's HPCS, LMHOFS has direct access to National Weather Service operational meteorological products that are required for reliable operations.
For more information about LMHOFS, please click here.
For more information about FVCOM, please click here.
