Rongqian Yang, National Centers For Environmental Prediction-Environmental Modeling Center, College Park, MD, United States, Michael B Ek, RAL, NCAR, Boulder, United States, Fei Chen, NCAR/RAL, Boulder, CO, United States, Michael J Barlage, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, United States, Zong-Liang Yang, Univ Texas Austin, Austin, TX, United States and John S Kain, NOAA/NCEP/EMC, College Park, OK, United States