Probabilistic weather forecasting with machine learning

Ilan Price (), Alvaro Sanchez-Gonzalez, Ferran Alet, Tom R. Andersson, Andrew El-Kadi, Dominic Masters, Timo Ewalds, Jacklynn Stott, Shakir Mohamed, Peter Battaglia (), Remi Lam () and Matthew Willson ()
Additional contact information
Ilan Price: Google DeepMind
Alvaro Sanchez-Gonzalez: Google DeepMind
Ferran Alet: Google DeepMind
Tom R. Andersson: Google DeepMind
Andrew El-Kadi: Google DeepMind
Dominic Masters: Google DeepMind
Timo Ewalds: Google DeepMind
Jacklynn Stott: Google DeepMind
Shakir Mohamed: Google DeepMind
Peter Battaglia: Google DeepMind
Remi Lam: Google DeepMind
Matthew Willson: Google DeepMind

Nature, 2025, vol. 637, issue 8044, 84-90

Abstract: Abstract Weather forecasts are fundamentally uncertain, so predicting the range of probable weather scenarios is crucial for important decisions, from warning the public about hazardous weather to planning renewable energy use. Traditionally, weather forecasts have been based on numerical weather prediction (NWP)1, which relies on physics-based simulations of the atmosphere. Recent advances in machine learning (ML)-based weather prediction (MLWP) have produced ML-based models with less forecast error than single NWP simulations2,3. However, these advances have focused primarily on single, deterministic forecasts that fail to represent uncertainty and estimate risk. Overall, MLWP has remained less accurate and reliable than state-of-the-art NWP ensemble forecasts. Here we introduce GenCast, a probabilistic weather model with greater skill and speed than the top operational medium-range weather forecast in the world, ENS, the ensemble forecast of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts4. GenCast is an ML weather prediction method, trained on decades of reanalysis data. GenCast generates an ensemble of stochastic 15-day global forecasts, at 12-h steps and 0.25° latitude–longitude resolution, for more than 80 surface and atmospheric variables, in 8 min. It has greater skill than ENS on 97.2% of 1,320 targets we evaluated and better predicts extreme weather, tropical cyclone tracks and wind power production. This work helps open the next chapter in operational weather forecasting, in which crucial weather-dependent decisions are made more accurately and efficiently.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08252-9

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