FALLS CHURCH, Va. —  General Dynamics Information Technology expanded the computing capacity of twin supercomputers, Dogwood and Cactus, by 20%.

The expansion will enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service to provide more detailed weather forecasts. These forecasts are critical for public safety and every economic sector in the U.S., including agriculture, transportation, urban planning, air quality monitoring, and emergency response management.

NOAA began running operational weather and climate forecast models on Dogwood and Cactus, two of the fastest supercomputers in the world according to TOP500, in June 2022. Designed and operated by GDIT, the supercomputers’ peak computing performance of 12.1 petaflops — approximately three times the capacity of the previous systems used by NOAA — combined with 25 petabytes of storage, provided a significant upgrade to the nation’s Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System. 

With this latest expansion, each supercomputer can operate at an even higher peak computing performance (14.5 petaflops) and storage capacity (31 petabytes), enabling the weather service to deploy additional improvements to production weather models. As a result, the agency will be able to produce higher resolution and more accurate models to better predict severe thunderstorms, cloud formations, and precipitation.

“This increased supercomputing power allows for upgrades to specific modeling systems that will help weather forecasters deliver more accurate weather forecasts, watches, and warnings and improved certainty in a forecast,” said Ken Graham, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service.

“Timely and accurate weather forecasts and warnings play a fundamental role in protecting the life and property of every American citizen,” said Mariano Alicea, GDIT’s vice president and general manager for aerospace and atmospherics. “As we continue to experience increasingly extreme weather events, every advancement in weather forecasting is critical. This expansion enables the National Weather Service to further improve its forecasts, better respond to severe weather events, and build the nation’s climate resilience.”