New research, leveraging CISL's supercomputing and data resources, is revolutionizing how we predict soil moisture, particularly for forecasts two weeks to three months in advance. This research has broad practical implications for agriculture and disaster preparedness, helping farmers with irrigation and drought planning, and providing valuable data for wildfire prediction.

The study, titled "Enhancing sub-seasonal soil moisture forecasts through land initialization," reveals that starting with a precise description of the land's current state is the key to improving forecast accuracy. This is a significant finding because, while precipitation is difficult to predict weeks in advance, soil moisture predictions can be remarkably skillful. In fact, the research demonstrates that land initialization alone accounts for 91% of the total subseasonal forecast skill for root zone soil moisture. 

To learn more about this innovative research, read the CISL News story.