Google's WeatherNext 3 reads raw satellite data, cuts short-range temperature error up to 40%
anselm · x · 2026-09-24
Google DeepMind and Google Research published the paper behind WeatherNext 3, tackling two key flaws of AI weather models.
- Escaping analysis-data lag: Existing AI models start from analysis fields updated every 6 hours, inheriting 6-12 hour delays and their biases. WeatherNext 3 ingests raw observations instead, building an hourly global mosaic from geostationary satellite feeds with 1 hour latency, issuing forecasts every hour.
- Physics-model-grade resolution: Hourly time steps and 0.1-degree resolution for single-level variables including solar radiation and cloud cover.
- Results: Up to 40% lower short-range temperature error at stations never seen in training, and a new state of the art in probabilistic medium-range forecasting skill.
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