release3.0

WRF 3.2 Release Information

The next major release of WRF will be V3.2 and is targeted for late March 2010. The timeline for the release is given below. Developers and potential code contributors please note that the date for getting new code to the Developers' Committee (DC) is: November 16, 2009. Developers seeking to have their codes for new capabilities provided to the Developers' Committee and then added to the repository should review Information for Code Contributors. Contributors may also write to wrfhelp for information and for contacting the Developers' Committee, which oversees code contributions to the WRF system and manages the WRF repository. The Developers' Committee is described in WRF Code Repository and Release Administration.

Candidate Features

A partial list of candidate features is given below. Any code's inclusion in the release is dependent on the code's meeting the timeline for submission, getting into the repository, and passing all required tests. The list of candidate features is neither guaranteed nor exclusive. Developers may submit code for consideration for the release as long as the timeline below is adhered to and the procedures for contribution (Information for Code Contributors) are followed. Developers and contributors may contact wrfhelp to get information on providing their code to a member of the Developers' Committee and on the addition of their code to the repository.

  • Reworked I/O infrastructure
  • New physics options (e.g., Millbrandt microphysics, Grell shallow Cu, Building Energy Model (BEM), NBA subgrid turbulence closure)
  • WRF-Fire
  • Updated Noah LSM, UCM, and surface schemes
  • WRF-NMM hurricane capability
  • WRF-NMM selectable conservative advection scheme
  • WRF-Chem updates, new options
  • Adjoint sensitivity code
  • New 4DVAR capabilities
  • WRF-DA software improvements

Timeline

The timeline for the release is as follows. "RC" refers to the Release Committee; "DC" refers to the Developers' Committee.

Mid-September, 2009

6-mo advance date (R-6m)

  • Users notified of approximate release schedule and of date for getting code to a member of the Developers' Committee.

November 16, 2009

4-mo advance date (R-4m)

  • New code or code modifications intended for the release must provided to the Developers' Committee.

December 15, 2009

3-mo advance date (R-3m)

  • Check on new features for the release is discussed by the RC (also by the DC).

January 8, 2010

  • Repository frozen (bugfixes excepted).

January 22, 2010

Approx. 2-mo advance date (R-2m)

  • Tests for new features are included in regression test suite. Regression test data sets finalized.

February 22, 2010

Approx. 1-mo advance date (R-1m)

  • Remaining bug fixes accommodated.
  • Full set of regression tests run on machines at NCAR.
  • Weekly RC meetings.

March 8, 2010

Approx. 2-week advance date (R-2w)

  • Final round of large testing. RC and DC meetings focus on status of code and testing.

March 15, 2010

Approx. 1-week advance date (R-1w)

  • DC certifies code (final approval) for release. Code packaged and staged for release.

End of March, 2010

Release period.

Release Committee

The WRF Release Committee oversees the periodic major releases of WRF. It is described in the policies for NCAR's administration of the WRF code, found in WRF Code Repository and Release Administration.

Release Committee Members

Jordan Powers- Chairman
Tom Black, NOAA/NCEP
Fei Chen, NCAR/RAL
Jimy Dudhia, NCAR/MMM
Dave Gill, NCAR/MMM
Georg Grell, NOAA/ESRL
John Michalakes, NCAR/MMM
Bill Skamarock, NCAR/MMM
Wei Wang, NCAR/MMM
Jamie Wolff, DTC
Xin Zhang, NCAR/MMM