What are the benefits of the high resolution forecasts?

First of all, a numerical weather forecast model can only take into account land and sea features that are at least four times the grid size. The standard resolution forecasts use the industry standard GFS global weather forecast, which uses a grid size of 0.5 degrees. This means that any features smaller than 2 degrees square are ignored by the forecast. This means that the English Channel, Irish Sea, and most of the islands in the Mediterranean are ignored. Our high resolution model is calculated on a 0.1 degree grid (though we supply the results on a 0.2 degree grid), so all of these features are included in the forecast model.

Secondly, the physics of the mathematical model is different. The high resolution forecast is better for modelling thermal effects, such as the effects of the land/sea boundary (including land and sea breezes), and thunderstorms.

In mid ocean, the benefits of high resolution forecasts are probably minimal, but in coastal waters the higher resolution gives noticeably more accurate forecasts.