RRFS NA 84 - Rapid Refresh Forecast System
| Provider: | National Centers for Environmental Prediction, NOAA (USA) |
| Model scope: | North America |
| Update frequency: | every 6 hours |
| Resolution: | 0.117°, 7.0nm, 13.0km |
| Model duration: | 45 forecasts starting at 0 hr, ending at 3 days 12 hrs |
| Parameters: | pressure, wind, wind gust, rain, cloud, temperature, humidity, dew point, convection, simulated radar, precipitable water, lightning, visibility, 0C isotherm, 250 mb, 500 mb, 850 mb |
| GRIB model date: | Thu Aug 27 00:00:00 2026 UTC |
| Download date: | Thu Aug 27 03:35:40 2026 UTC |
| Download delay: | 3hr 35min |
Note: the Download delay is the amount of time required for the GRIB model to compute its forecast and then for the LuckGrib cluster to download the data and make it available. The LuckGrib delay is generally less than 10 minutes, the remainder of the delay is the model compute time.
Important note
**RRFS is currently in the pre-production evaluation phase, and is not yet fully operational at NOAA. The model is expected to enter production status in early October, 2026.
Overview
RRFS (Rapid Refresh Forecast System) is a high-resolution (~3 km) regional model providing short-term forecasts with frequent updates. It is a cornerstone of NOAA’s Unified Forecast System (UFS) for North America. For full background on UFS and how RRFS fits into NOAA’s roadmap, see the detailed discussion here.
High-resolution models like RRFS excel at capturing rapidly evolving weather: sharp fronts, convection, and local effects from terrain, coastlines, and land features that can strongly influence surface winds.
The RRFS domain covers all of North America, including Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and adjacent waters—providing seamless high-resolution coverage for coastal and offshore passages that previously required switching between multiple models.
Available variants
There are two full-domain variants of RRFS available, along with four high resolution nests. The two full domain variants are:
- RRFS NA 84 — Updated every 6 hours, with forecast data for 3 1/2 days (84 hours.) The resolution of this model is 13km, and it has hourly forecast data for 24 hours.
- RRFS NA 84 HiRes — Updated every 6 hours, with the full resolution data (3km), and forecast data every 3 hours for 3 1/2 days.