ICON vs ARPEGE
DWD ICON (German model) and Météo-France ARPEGE / AROME (French model) are independent forecasts built by different weather services. ICON: Short-range detail over Europe, thunderstorms (ICON-D2), terrain-driven precipitation. ARPEGE: Convective rain, Mediterranean "épisodes cévenols", wind in complex terrain. Neither is right every time: the useful signal is whether they agree. Compare them live below for any city.
| DWD ICON | Météo-France ARPEGE / AROME | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Weather Service) | Météo-France |
| Origin | Germany | France |
| Resolution | 13 km global, 7 km Europe (ICON-EU), 2 km Central Europe (ICON-D2) | ~25 km world, 10 km Europe, 1.3 km AROME over France |
| Model runs | 4 per day global; hourly for ICON-D2 | 4 per day |
| Forecast range | up to 7 days | up to 4 days |
| Type | Physics-based NWP | Physics-based NWP |
| Also called | German model, ICON-EU, ICON-D2 | French model, ARPEGE, AROME |
| Strengths | Short-range detail over Europe, thunderstorms (ICON-D2), terrain-driven precipitation. | Convective rain, Mediterranean "épisodes cévenols", wind in complex terrain. |
| Weaknesses | Global range ends around day 7; outside Europe it falls back to the 13 km global grid. | Short range (about 4 days); global ARPEGE is less skilful than ECMWF. |
Key differences
- ICON resolution: 13 km global, 7 km Europe (ICON-EU), 2 km Central Europe (ICON-D2); ARPEGE: ~25 km world, 10 km Europe, 1.3 km AROME over France.
- ICON range: about 7 days; ARPEGE: about 4 days.
- ICON updates: 4 per day global; hourly for ICON-D2; ARPEGE: 4 per day.
- ICON weak spots: Global range ends around day 7; outside Europe it falls back to the 13 km global grid. ARPEGE weak spots: Short range (about 4 days); global ARPEGE is less skilful than ECMWF.
Questions
Is ICON or ARPEGE more accurate?
DWD ICON (German model) and Météo-France ARPEGE / AROME (French model) are independent forecasts built by different weather services. ICON: Short-range detail over Europe, thunderstorms (ICON-D2), terrain-driven precipitation. ARPEGE: Convective rain, Mediterranean "épisodes cévenols", wind in complex terrain. Neither is right every time: the useful signal is whether they agree. Compare them live below for any city.
Which is the European model and which is the American model?
The "European model" is ECMWF (IFS, and its AI sibling AIFS). The "American model" is NOAA's GFS. The German model is ICON, the Canadian model GEM, the UK model UKMO and the French models ARPEGE/AROME.
Where can I see ICON and ARPEGE side by side?
On every MeteoStack city page: the stack shows ICON, ARPEGE and up to ten other models hour by hour, with their median consensus, spread and rain odds. It is free and works for any place on Earth.
More comparisons
ECMWF vs GFS · ECMWF vs ICON · GFS vs ICON · ECMWF vs AIFS · ECMWF vs UKMO · GFS vs GEM · ECMWF vs GEM · ICON vs ARPEGE · GFS vs AIFS · UKMO vs GFS · ECMWF vs JMA · ICON vs UKMO · ECMWF vs ARPEGE · GFS vs JMA