Big data in weather forecasting: Applications and challenges

Increasing evidence of climate change worldwide is becoming the reason to understand a lot more about the weather — everything from what's going to happen tomorrow to what's coming next year. To forecast weather we need to analyze a large set of data therefore use of big data in weather forecasting will provide numerous advantages such as saving lives, improving the quality of life, reducing risks, enhancing profitability and humanity. Some examples of these domains include Forecasting Solar Power for Utility Operations, large-scale crop production forecasts for global food security, in precision agriculture for future farming and space weather forecasting. In order to know how these applications could impact normal operations this paper defines various weather forecasting applications and technical challenges.