ICON vs UKMO
DWD ICON (German model) and UK Met Office (UK model) are independent forecasts built by different weather services. ICON: Short-range detail over Europe, thunderstorms (ICON-D2), terrain-driven precipitation. UKMO: Atlantic depressions, UK and Ireland rain and wind, medium-range pattern. Neither is right every time: the useful signal is whether they agree. Compare them live below for any city.
| DWD ICON | UK Met Office | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Weather Service) | Met Office (United Kingdom) |
| Origin | Germany | United Kingdom |
| Resolution | 13 km global, 7 km Europe (ICON-EU), 2 km Central Europe (ICON-D2) | ~10 km global; 2 km UKV over the UK |
| Model runs | 4 per day global; hourly for ICON-D2 | 2–4 per day |
| Forecast range | up to 7 days | up to 7 days |
| Type | Physics-based NWP | Physics-based NWP |
| Also called | German model, ICON-EU, ICON-D2 | UK model, Met Office Unified Model, UKV |
| Strengths | Short-range detail over Europe, thunderstorms (ICON-D2), terrain-driven precipitation. | Atlantic depressions, UK and Ireland rain and wind, medium-range pattern. |
| Weaknesses | Global range ends around day 7; outside Europe it falls back to the 13 km global grid. | Open data covers about 7 days. |
Key differences
- ICON resolution: 13 km global, 7 km Europe (ICON-EU), 2 km Central Europe (ICON-D2); UKMO: ~10 km global; 2 km UKV over the UK.
- ICON range: about 7 days; UKMO: about 7 days.
- ICON updates: 4 per day global; hourly for ICON-D2; UKMO: 2–4 per day.
- ICON weak spots: Global range ends around day 7; outside Europe it falls back to the 13 km global grid. UKMO weak spots: Open data covers about 7 days.
Questions
Is ICON or UKMO more accurate?
DWD ICON (German model) and UK Met Office (UK model) are independent forecasts built by different weather services. ICON: Short-range detail over Europe, thunderstorms (ICON-D2), terrain-driven precipitation. UKMO: Atlantic depressions, UK and Ireland rain and wind, medium-range pattern. 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 UKMO side by side?
On every MeteoStack city page: the stack shows ICON, UKMO 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