# What is WRF, how it is used, where to get information about it
WRF is a community-driven numerical weather prediction model, originally developed in the US in a collaboration between the research community (National Center for Atmospheric Research, [NCAR](https://ncar.ucar.edu), part of the University Corporation for atmospheric Research, [UCAR](https://www.ucar.edu]) and the National Weather Service (National Centers for Environmental Prediction, [NCEP](https://www.weather.gov/ncep/) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, [NOAA](https://www.noaa.gov/)).
Over the years, WRF evolved into two distinct models. [ARW-WRF](https://www.mmm.ucar.edu/models/wrf)(Advanced Research WRF) is maintained by NCAR and is used by the research community. [WRF-NMM](https://nomads.ncep.noaa.gov/txt_descriptions/WRF_NMM_doc.shtml) is used operationally by the National Weather Service. We use ARW-WRF.
Most of the information about the ARW-WRF is accessible from the [WRF users page](https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/). The formulation of the model (background theory, numerical aspects, dynamical core, parameterizations) is described in depth in a [Technical description](https://opensky.ucar.edu/islandora/object/opensky:2898), which is periodically updated. The practical use of the model is described in a [User guide](https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/docs/user_guide_v4/v4.4/contents.html).
NCAR periodically organizes WRF tutorials (one-week workshops for beginners). The [teaching material from the WRF tutorials](https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/workshops/lecture_series/dynamics_lectures_workshop.html) is available online and is a great source of information. There is also an [online tutorial](https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/OnLineTutorial/index.php) that covers the basics of installing and running WRF.
There is also a [users's forum](https://forum.mmm.ucar.edu/), which can be a source of information on solutions to common problems. However most of the forum posts are about problems, and very few offer useful solution. Navigating the forum in search of solutions is useless, but landing in the forum from a web source might be useful.
WRF and related programs run as executables on linux machines and clusters. Running WRF requires access to a linux terminal. If you work on Linux or Mac, this is trivial: just open a terminal window. If you work on windows, consider using a linux terminal emulator that supports X11 forwarding (a protocol that enables running interactive graphical applications on a remote server via ssh). There are several alternatives, one option that proved to work well is [MobaXterm](https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/).
# Organization of the source code
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# Analysing model output
[Python interface to WRF](https://wrf-python.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)
