The weather has an astonishing impact on our lives, ranging from the frustration of being caught in a sudden downpour to the trillions of dollars spent in weather-sensitive businesses. Consequently, a great deal of time, effort, money, and technology is used to predict the weather. In the attempt to improve weather prediction, meteorologists rely on increasingly sophisticated computers and computer models.

When researchers created the first computer models of Earth's atmosphere in the mid-twentieth century, they worked with computers that were extremely limited compared to the supercomputers that exist today. As a result, the first weather models were oversimplified, although they still provided valuable insights. As computer technology advanced, more of the factors that influenced the atmosphere, such as physical variables, could be taken into account, and the complexity and accuracy of weather forecast models increased.

Today's computer-enhanced weather forecasts can be successful only...